


In the Beyond

by Kay_Albertina



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - Various Authors, Dragon Age Inquisition - Fandom
Genre: Drama, F/M, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-04-20 14:05:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4790042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kay_Albertina/pseuds/Kay_Albertina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mahanon was sent to the Conclave by their clan, but no way that Ellana was going to let her best friend go alone. The Conclave was dangerous, too many humans on one spot, but important as well. "This meeting could be the start of war", our Keeper told us. She did not know how right she was.</p><p>This is the story of Ellana, a rogue with secrets and problems of her own, finding her place in the inquisition.</p><p>Note this is my first fanfiction ever, I would appreciate constructive feedback, expecially since English is not my native language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** Chapter one **

 

“No! That is not how it happened!” exclaimed a nearby soldier. An innocent question was slowly getting out of hand, just like Ellana wanted.

 

Slowly creeping out of the argument, she motioned discreetly for Mahanon to follow her and continued towards the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Who knew that these damn shems were so easily fooled? Luckily Ellana had quite some experience with handling their kind, and knew how to manipulate them to get what she wanted.

 

The last few days she made sure that nobody noticed that she was an elf, masking her ears and hiding her vallaslin under makeup and magic. Layers of clothing (that they stole, by the way) did the rest. Even though this conclave was about the templars and mages, thus including elves, most of the people present were still human. And it would not do for a spy to standout, now would it?

 

Too bad her friend was not so used to the whole 'spy' business. Mahanon was First of her clan, very talented with magic and passionate about elven history, but hopeless with politics and handling people. Lucky for him, she volunteered to join the trip to the conclave. It was a grave matter. Already the conflict was spreading to the North and she heard rumors about rogue templars or mages going astray. Enough to make sleeping less easy under the open sky.

 

Mahanon, dressed as a human mage and hiding his face, followed her nervously. There were a lot of people trying to get inside the Temple. From here on, it would be easier to blend in.

 

Once inside the building, they had to put down their weapons, since this meeting was a peace talk, no weapons were allowed. Ellana kept her small dagger though, hidden from sight and slowly walked further. The best they could do now was to split up, to increase their chances of hearing something useful. She looked over her shoulder, locked eyes with Mahanon and gave a small nod. Mahanon swallowed, but nod back and went to the left, following the other mages. Ellana followed the stream of templars to the right.

 

However, when she got the chance, she went to a nearby restroom. She washed her hands and looked in the mirror. Mahanon did a great job hiding her features. Her skin showed no sign of her vallaslin and she looked almost male. Her hair was lighter than the dark brown it normally was and cut short. Her eye color was also changed to brown. She hardly recognized herself, but it was no matter.

 

She waited ....

 

 

\-----------

 

 

Pain, darkness and .. something .. humid? What?

 

Slowly Ellana tried to get up, but somehow her energy was drained and her body felt like lead. Slowly, she got up on one knee, then the other and she opened her eyes.

 

What ... the ... ? This is definitely _not_ the woman's restroom ...  Faintly noticing her hand was hurting, but ignoring it, she scanned her surroundings and started walking. Green, water, floating rocks ... thinking was difficult, but she had a faint feeling she had to go somewhere, which was very important ... 

 

Then the spiders came.

 

They were larger than anything she had seen before and she ran for her life. Up up up the mountain, where a light, a woman?, was waiting for her ...

 

The last thing she remembered was stepping through  _something_ and falling exhausted on the ground.

 

 

 

\---------

 

 

When she came around, she was lying on a stone floor. There were angry whispers in the room, Ellana tried to move to locate the source, but quickly noticed her hands were in shackles. She slowly got up on her knees. However, when she started moving, 4 or 5 men drew their sword and aimed it at her.

 

The _fuck_? Ellana slowly got up to her knees and scanned their faces and then avoided their gaze. They looked angry at _her._ What happened? Did she get caught? Where was Mahanon? Please, Creaters, let him have escaped...

 

A sudden flash of green light and a pain in her left arm was distracting her. When she turned her hand, she noticed a green cut in the palm of her hand. While she was still looking in disbelief, the green light intensified, along with a bolt of pain. She tried, but failed, not to cry out. After a few breaths she got the pain under control. _What the .._

 

Then a door opened with a bang and a woman came in. No, wait, two. They were both dressed for war it seemed, but they had way better armor than most of the soldiers around here. They must be two important people. As if given an order, the men surrounding Ellana withdrew their swords.

 

They were going to interrogate her, this is not good.

 

One of them, a woman with short black hair and a scar on her face, was circling around her, but she kept her head aimed to the floor and swallowed. How long has she been in this place? Why didn't she remember how she got here? What would they accusing her off?

 

“Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now. The Conclave is destroyed, everyone who attended is dead, except for you”

 

“Wh-what do you mean everyone is dead?!?”

 

The woman turned to face her, maybe she expected a different answer, for she roughly took her hand.

 

“Explain _this_ ”

 

Her marked hand again flashed out, but she now could suppress the pain and turn it into anger. _No way that Mahanon was d_ _ea_ _d._ This woman _had_ to be lying.

 

“I. Can't.”

She said through clenched teeth.

 

“What do you mean you can't”

 

“I have no clue how it got there, or what it is!”

 

“You are lying!”.

 

It looked like she was going to strangle her, but then the other woman interfered.

 

“We need her Cassandra!”

 

She turned and regarded her. Ellana by now was trying to analyze her situation. Cassandra was how the Right hand of the Divine was called as well. This did not bode well. She was trying not to panic.

 

“I .. don't understand ...”, she mumbled. Better stick to the truth for now ...

 

“Do you remember what happened? How this began?”

 

What did they mean by 'this'? What happened? She closed her eyes and thought about the last things she remembered.

 

“I .. remember ... running! Things were chasing me.. and then ... a woman?”

 

That sounded vague even in her own mind, but it was the truth.

 

“A woman!”

 

Did she believe her or was that the sentiment that Ellana wanted to hear?

 

“She reached out to me ... but then ... “

 

She sighed, what happened after that was too vague for words .. how do you describe a feeling?

 

However, Cassandra intervened.

 

“Go to the forward camp Liliana. I will take her to the rift.”

 

Wait, what rift? While Liliana left the room, Cassandra removed the shackles. While she was busy Ellana voiced the question she was burning to ask during the interrogation.

 

“What happened?”

 

Cassandra was slightly taken aback while she answered “It will be easier to show you ..”.

 

Her hands were still bound, but now she could stand up fully and follow Cassandra outside. The bright light blinded her, but after a while she could look out. They were in a small village, of sorts, a lot of people were walking around, soldiers, woman, merchants. What really got her attention however was a great green light in the sky.

 

She gaped at it. What is that thing?

 

“We call it the Breach”, answered Cassandra her. “It is a massive rift to the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It is not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave”

 

“An explosion can do that?”

 

“This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world”

 

As if to prove a point, the Breach was expanding at that very moment, causing Ellana to fall to her knees in pain. Cassandra went to one knee and explained the situation best she could, how they thought the mark and the Breach were linked and that the mark could be the only way to stop it. So they thought the mark could actually do something about it? Utter madness, that's what it is. Cassandra though actually looked a mixture of hope, doubt and anger.

 

_Damnit, I do not have a choice have I?_ Ellana thought, but thought better she voiced her motives differently. This was  likely  the Right hand of the Divine, and didn't she also met the Left hand as well just a minute ago? Better to keep them on her good side, if that was at all possible.

 

“I understand”, Ellana concluded, even though she did not, not fully. When Cassandra was looking she expected something more, she added “I will do everything in my power to help”. Cassandra smiled a little, and helped her get up.

 

They slowly made their way to the gate.

 

\---------------------

 

_So everyone thinks I am responsible for this mess?!?_

 

A lot of  other thoughts crossed her mind  as well. Did Mahanon make it out alive? If he did, where would he be now? How would she ever get out of this mess?  And why, why couldn't she remember anything???

 

Ellana hated the clothes she was wearing, even though they kept her warm. She was not used to booths and the size of the clothes  were overall too large. However, considering recent events, her a tt ire was the last of her concerns. 

 

During this inner struggle, Cassandra was explaining about the Conclave, how it was their only hope and now all the leaders were dead. Wait, all of them? Including the Divine?

 

Damn, no wonder everyone looked at her like they wanted her dead...

 

Once outside the gate, Cassandra cut the ropes that bound her hands  with the words “There will be a trial, I can promise no more” 

 

“Come it is not far”

 

“Where are you taking me?”

 

“Your mark has be tested on something smaller than the Breach”. Ah right, so we are going to this .. rift thing? Ellana sighed and walked out. The smell of smoke and death hit her and she noticed a lot of broken carts burning and bodies were lying everywhere. Her stomach uneasy, she broke into a light run to keep moving. Three young recruits were running in the other direction in slight panic. “Maker, it is the end of the world!” Ellana avoided their gaze, and went a little faster. 

 

Another pulse made her fall again in pain. Now the pain was spreading to her elbow and the light was disturbingly bright. Cassandra helped her up again, “The pulses are coming faster now”. She looked like she pitied her, just for a moment or two, then she frowned and motioned that they had to keep going.

 

When they crossed a bridge, a green light fell from the sky and destroyed  the path they wanted to take. Both woman fell down onto the frozen river. Ellana rolled to avoid serious injury.  C arefully  she looked up.  A rock surrounding with green light made impact with the river not 10 meters from them. Dark  green smoke was swirling on  that spot  and a demon was slowly getting up.

 

“Stay behind me!” Cassandra yelled, before rushing to attack it.

 

However, Cassandra did not notice the second demon,  whole materialized near Ellana.  She looked around for some kind of weapon, spotted a rusty old sword, not something she would have chosen, but it would have to do. She grabbed it and turned to face the demon, who was already moving towards her.

 

She had never fought demons before, at first she was dodging the flows, until she saw an opening to attack. The sword really had seen better days, it was not sharp enough to do real damage and it took considerable effort to make the cuts lethal. By the time she killed it, Cassandra was running towards her, obviously finished before she did.

 

“Drop your weapon, now!”

 

“What, you call this a weapon?”, she answered without thinking. Cassandra looked murderous and she quickly added,”Sorry, of course, you can have it!”. She dropped the sword. Cassandra narrowed her eyes, sighed, and sheathed her sword. “No, you are right, you need to have a real weapon to defend yourself. I cannot protect you.”

 

She looked around for something better, but Ellana dropped to her knees and got the hidden dagger from her boot. Luckily it was still there after the whole ordeal. During this, she also spotted her reflection in the frozen river. A human stared back. Oh, right, the cover. It was still there? Hope was spreading in her body at that realization, _did that mean that Mahanon was still alive?_ All this took less than two seconds and she got up again. Cassandra looked surprised and a bit suspicious, but she did not mention it. “Let's continue”.

 

She waited for Ellana to go first, likely to keep an eye on her.

 

\---------

 

 

Ellana was far better fighting with a small dagger than a rusty sword, they made good time past the remaining demons on the way to the rift.

 

Now they were walking up some stairs. “You can hear the fighting”, Cassandra commented.

 

“Who is fighting?”

 

“You will see soon, we must help them!”, Cassandra was now rushing ahead. Ellana by now started to feel nauseous due to the pain in her hand, but she tried to keep pace with her. A huge green light greeted her at the top, and a welcome committee of demons...

 

She only paused for a second to take in the situation, before deciding the dwarf needed the most help (really, it had nothing to do with being farther away from that green thing ..). She killed the demon that was creeping up his back, but another was fast taking his place. She rather sensed than saw that a mage was part of their team. When finally the battle ended and no more demons came pouring through the rift, a tall bald elf came to her. “Quickly, before more come through!”, he grabbed her marked hand and lifted it towards the rift.

 

She felt his magic doing something and her hand making contact to the rift. It tried to drain her mana, but she resisted, so instead it took her stamina. It really was not a pleasant feeling. By the time it was done, her energy was drained and she tore her hand free, taking in the elf in more detail.

 

He was dressed in very simple clothes and was wearing no shoes. His eyes were studying her and she didn't like the feeling. “What .. did you do?”

 

“I did nothing, the credit is yours”

 

What? “ _I_ did that? How?”

 

In vague disbelief she listened to the elf explanation. He came up with this whole idea that the mark could close rifts? He must either be an expert on magic, or a very wistful person. Ellana still could not grasp what was happening, but Cassandra looked hopeful again. “Meaning it could also close the Breatch itself!”

 

“Good to know, here I thought we were asdeep in demons forever”, now her attention was shifting to the dwarf she was protecting. She liked him better then the rest of the party already.

 

“Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller and occasionally, unwelcome tag-along”, Varric winked to Cassandra, who looked angry again. Was that her natural state or something?

 

“Nice to meet you, it is a nice crossbow you have there”. She had never seen anything like it.

 

“Aah isn't she! Bianca and I have been through a lot together”

 

“You called your crossbow Bianca?”

 

“Yes, and she will be a great help in the valley”

 

“Absolutely not!”, Cassandra intervened, “Your help is appreciated Varric, but -”

 

“Haven't you been in the valley lately Seeker? Your patrols aren't in control anymore, you need me.” Varric looked smug, while Cassandra was disgusted with the idea, but did not deny his claim.

 

At this point, the elf walked forward.

 

“My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live.”

 

“He means, I kept that mark from killing you while you slept”, Varric added helpfully.

 

Ellana studied him again, he did not wear any vallaslin, meaning he was likely a city elf. However, if he was a city elf, did that mean he was part a circle in the past as well? And who named their child “Solas” anyway?

 

“I'm curious, how did you stop that mark from killing me?”, Ellana asked. Ellana had some magical talent herself, but it was not something she used on a regular basis. She liked to be close to the combat. Plus, it was always good to surprise your opponent if things did not turn out the way they should. Likely he used some wards or such, but he needn't know Ellana knew quite a bit about magic herself.

 

“Solas is an apostate”, Cassandra mentioned. “Technically, every mage is an apostate now” Solas added, before answering her question. “Healing magic and wards were enough to stabilize it for now, but it will not save you unless we can close that Breach”, then he turned again to Cassandra, “you should know, the magic here isn't like any I have seen. Your prisoner is no mage, indeed I find it unlikely for any mage having such power.”

 

Ellana looked at Solas more closely. He was definitely an expert, or thought himself an expert, on magic. However, he was not part of a circle, if Cassandra's information was correct. Where did he learn to control his magic? And he also did not notice that she was actually a mage after all. Interesting. She needed to be careful around him, lest her secret came out.

 

\-----------


	2. Chapter 2

 

They were walking towards a mountain, when Varric observed they did not know her name. “You can call me Ana”, she had answered without hesitation. Ellana was not really a name for a human right? And in this way, she was not really lying either. Solas looked sideways to her, before focusing his attention on more demons that materialized in front of them.

 

He quickly put a barrier over their group, while Ellana rushed towards the demon closest to her, Cassandra close at her side. Killing the demon was easy enough, even though she felt more tired by the minute. However, this time she got hit by some green energy from afar. Smelling burned flesh, she looked around and spotted the responsible demon. However, in the next moment it disappeared in a block of ice conjured by the elven mage.

 

When the fight was finished, Solas noticed Ellana was injured. “You alright?”

 

She took one of the potions from Cassandra, drained it and gave a sharp nod. She pushed forward, Ellana did not like the way Varric seemed so interested in her history. He wanted to ask how she got at the conclave and whether she thought she was innocent or not.

 

They were now walking through more snow up a mountain when Ellana commented “I do not remember what happened”, which was close to the truth. She did remember _some_ things after all, like what her plans were during the conclave. Whether those succeeded .. well ... it didn't really matter now did it?

 

“And what were you doing at the conclave anyway?”, Varric asked. Ellana considered the question. Should she lie or-?

 

The Breach expanded again and Ellana felt a sharp pain in her hand at the same time. She had to stop for a minute and will herself to keep standing. In the end, she was leaning against a tree with her eyes shut until the pain was under control again. When she recovered, Solas was looking concerned, “We should move quickly”.

 

Instead of answering the dwarf's question, Ellana started walking again, setting a fast pace.

 

\-------

 

“Another rift! We have to seal it quickly!”. They talked like it was as easily done as closing a door, well, a door protected by demons that is, Ellana thought. Damn, she was feeling more and more nauseous near the thing.

 

A demon claw very nearly missed her, she was getting sloppy. The day's events were draining her, and the faint calling from the rift was not helping matters. Sweat was running down her face, and when the area was cleared, she turned her body towards the rift. It felt hungry, like it wanted her whole being.

 

Instead of holding back, she now gave the rift her mana, hoping the others would not notice and that her almost depleted stamina would be spared. She would need it in the near future, she expected. When it was closed, she fell to her knees and almost fell sideways. She forced herself to inspect her hurting hand and it looked red around the green cut. It felt hot, like it was infected, and she could not completely close her hand. She scooped up some snow to ease the pain, when she noticed a slender hand Solas offered.

 

She hesitated, her face a mask, and in the end stood up on her own. She did not trust him. Solas bowed his head, but did not comment. Instead he followed Cassandra towards the forward camp.

 

\-------------

 

_Let's sit and wait for the show to go on, while the Breach consumes us all, shall we?_

 

Ellana nearly rolled her eyes to the 'discussion' with the Roderick. Did he seriously think he was in charge here? It was no secret that nobody was obeying his orders. And by now Ellana was certain that indeed these two women are the Left and Right hand of the Divine. Or were ... the Divine was dead after all.

 

Ellana was sitting on one of the crates with supplies to rest, when Varric offered her some water, which she gratefully took and drained in one go. The nausea was less now and she felt a little bit better. She looked around discreetly. In the crate next to her were more swords, but also some daggers. She risked a glance to Cassandra and Leliana, before taking two that looked reasonable. Her own, smaller, dagger she put back in her boot. At that moment, her hand started to protest again.

 

_Fuck, it's getting worse!_

 

Suddenly, the whole party was looking at her. “How do you think we should proceed?”

 

“What? You are asking me what I think now?”

 

Solas simply observed: “You have the mark”, and Cassandra added “And you are the one we should keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own ...”.

 

Ellana closed her eyes and considered, resting her arms on her legs. Charging ahead was the quickest route indeed, but it would be bloody, claiming a lot of lives. The path over the mountains was not so bad, it was part of the route Mahanon and Ellana took as a matter of fact to reach the Temple in the first place. Though if a group of soldiers went missing there ...

 

She looked at her hand, which throbbed in time with her heartbeat. _Mahanon would not have left people behind_ _though_ _..._

 

“Then we will take the mountain path”, then she got up and started walking.

 

 

\-------------

 

 

They worked their way through an old mine. Ellana was here before with Mahanon on the way to the Conclave, and was surprised to see the place was now covered in demons. _Damnit, should have taken the fast route_...

 

However, their strange team worked rather well together and by now she could trust the arrows of Varric and the ice magic from Solas. _Wish his barrier would hold a bit longer though_ , Ellana thought when she observed a gash in her right arm. It was shallow, luckily, and one swallow of health potion was enough to heal it. They pressed on. Ellana looked left and right, in painful hope that maybe _maybe_ Mahanon was somewhere here, that he escaped the explosion somehow. He would have turned back the way they came, knowing him. However, there was no sign of him.

 

“Ah, that must have been the soldiers”, Varric whispered, clearly disappointed. “That cannot be all of them!” Cassandra said, while Solas was clearly focused on their main objective, “Our focus must be the Breach, if we do not close it no-one is safe!”. “I leave that to our glowy friend here”, Varric teased.

 

Ellana raised one eyebrow. _Glowy?_ Then she started to feel the familiar pulling and she hissed. “Watch your step, more demons ahead!”, she warned.

 

They found the rest of the soldiers in a dire situation, fitting a losing battle. Ellana saved one soldier by throwing one of her daggers into the neck of the nearby demon, who was just about to rip his head off. Solas, in his turn, saved Ellana by freezing the demon that tried to sneak up on her.

 

“Lady Cassandra!”, one of the soldiers cried out once the demons were gone.

 

“Lieutenant! Are you alright?”

 

Ellana, in the meantime, was having a war of wills with the remaining rift. _How about you close nice and quietly on your own without you bleeding me dry?_ The rift, miraculously, closed without too much effort. Maybe it was practice?

 

Solas looked slightly proud, “Sealed, as before. You are getting quite proficient at this.”

 

More sweat was running down her face and she was slightly shaking. She regarded him, unsure what to say.

 

“I do not think we could have hold on much longer, thank the Maker you arrived.”

 

“Don't thank me, thank the prisoner. She insisted we coming this way”, Cassandra answered. Ellana turned around to their conversation.

 

The Lieutenant looked shocked, “The-the prisoner? Then you-?”

 

Ellana looked at Cassandra however.  _In our clan, we do not leave people behind to rot,_ she wanted to say, but instead said to the soldiers, “I'm glad we could save you. Too many people died already.”

 

“You have my sincere gratitude.” _Well ... good ... now let's go and finish this before I lose my nerve_. 

 

Ellana nodded once and turned to leave. She missed some of the conversation as she kept her eyes focused on the Temple before them ... or what was left of it...

 

\---------------

 

“That's were you stepped out of the Fade and where our soldiers found you”, Cassandra all but whispered. Ellana hardly heard a word of it.

 

Smoking black rock, burning corpses, and a strange faint singing overwhelmed her. _You cannot distinguish the Temple anymore ... damn ..._. _no way that anyone inside survived._

 

By the time she realized this, she was kneeling in the ashes, trying not to let her emotions overwhelm her. _Mahanon is died,_ she thought, _I am now utterly alone._ Not only that, but the mission was a complete failure as well. Tears were trying to come forward, but she pushed them down, closing her eyes and forcing her breath to calm. _Deal with the situation at hand, emotions will make you weak, steady now, you got a job to finish first_.

 

“Creators, give me strength”, she whispered.

 

She heard footsteps nearby, and felt a hand on her shoulder, but took another moment or two before opening her eyes again. She stared at the cause of all this chaos, that green light further in and steeled her resolve. Without thinking, she took the hand from her shoulder and got up. The hand stiffened in surprise, but Solas helped her up. She only glanced at him in passing, before walking further into the Temple. He had looked slightly confused, and Varric looked nervous and concerned, but it did not matter now. Nothing matter now, instead revenge. Mahanon was a good man, would have been a good leader, and now he was died.

 

_Someone is going to pay for this._

 

They slowly made their way into the Temple.

 

Leliana arrived as well and spread out her archers. Ellana looked up up and up towards the Breach.  _Can I even reach that thing?_

 

“You got a ladder lying around here by any chance?”, she asked Cassandra in her most neutral voice possible, feeling detached from herself, trying to stay practical. If she stayed practical, then maybe the feelings would not catch up with her. “What?” Cassandra asked sharply. Ellana vaguely gestured to the Breach. “How do you want me to reach that thing?”

 

Then Solas butted in “No, that rift down there was the first, and it is the key. Seal it and perhaps we seal the Breach”. 

 

_Great, more 'perhaps' .. though he has been right so far._

 

They walked down towards the rift. Varric got really nervous at one point when they passed some red crystal. Ellana had never seen it before, but the singing got louder near it.

 

Then they heard the voices. 

 

Some booming low voice was threatening the Divine, talking about a 'sacrifice'. Hair on Ellana's arm stood up, hadn't she heard that voice before ...? When they were finally near the rift they saw a vision of a shadow-like man, or creature, and the Divine. Then  _Ellana_ came running in, took in the scene and looked frightened.

 

“We have an intruder, kill her, now!”

 

Then the vision dissolved into nothing. Cassandra was demanding answers that Ellana did not have. “I .. do .. no .. remember!” and she added “I'm sorry”. Cassandra looked almost desperate, mirroring Ellana's feelings that she was trying very hard not to feel.

 

“The Fade bleeds into this place”, Solas observed, and then mentioned that the rift was not closed, and that they had to seal it properly. That would mean more demons however. 

 

_Well, let's finish this_ . Ellana was taking her stance near the rift, signaling for Varric to search higher grounds. Solas was also keeping his distance, ready to cast spells. Then her eyes locked with Cassandra, who gave the sign, and Ellana opened the rift. 

 

Now instead of closing, she imaged opening a door with a slight  _push_ of her will. Suddenly, she was pushed backwards and a huge pride demon stepped out.  _Fuck_ .

 

She rushed out of its way, trying to get behind it, and already heard tenths of arrows attacking the great beast. However, none of them seem to harm it. Her daggers also didn't go deep. Pride was laughing in their faces, using its claws to brush them off like flies. Cassandra only just blocked its attack. Ellana backed away, considering her options, when she felt the pulling again.

 

She frowned, and looked at the rift. Without thinking she lifted her hand towards it and made connection. Unknown magic from her mark was taking control of the rift now, and after a few seconds green light attacked the pride demon from behind, bringing it to its knees. “The demon is vulnerable, now”, Cassandra screamed.

 

Ellana, breathing heavily, tried to rush towards it, but another smaller demon suddenly blocked her way. It hit her square in the face. The moment Ellana hit the ground, a barrier was erected around her.  _Sweet timing Solas damn you!_

 

The second hit was stopped by the barrier and by the time Ellana was up on her feet again, it shattered. Ice froze the demon, while Ellana continued on towards the pride demon. She sprinted towards it, leaped on top of its back and pushed the two daggers deep into its neck. It gave a big scream and twisted around, swinging her of its back. She rolled to a stop near Varric, got quickly to her knees and took her spare dagger. “Nice one Glowy!”, he smiled, before taking aim again and letting his bolt fly.

 

The pride demon was pissed and now conjured a whip of lightning. Several soldiers nearby got it by the lightning and dropped dead or gravely injured to the earth. Screams filled the air.

 

Ellana locked eyes with the beast and sneered, using her agility to distract it. However, by now the demon had summoned a second whip and it was aiming at her. She was just too late to avoid it and it captured her ankle, electrocuting her and dragging her towards the demon. The pride demon's fist was now taking aim to crush her. Quickly taking aim, Ellana threw her last dagger towards one of its eyes. When she felt the whip loosen around her ankle and heard a great roar, she made a run for it, rather than to watch the result. Varric finished the job with a nicely aimed bolt and the beast fell down, finally dead.

 

“Now! Seal the rift!”, Cassandra demanded.

 

Ellana was shaking all around, bleeding from all different places, but walked a bit closer to the rift before lifting her hand.

 

It hurt more than all the other rifts combined. And now, instead of asking, it now took whatever it wanted to have. Ellana screamed as she felt the last of her reserved mana, stamina and what else rush out of her and she felt her knees give way. She did not remember hitting the ground.

 

\-----------

 

Solas knew it was wrong the moment she made the connection with the rift. It was too hungry, too big a tear to the Fade to be able to close by a person with zero magical experience. Also, he had seen how the mark was weakening her throughout the day. She did not have enough energy to do this.

 

He was rushing towards her when the rift closed and she fell towards the ground. By the time he reached her, he quickly went down and felt her pulse. He released a breath when he still felt a pulse, though it was far to quick and shallow. He tried to turn her around.

 

When he saw the pointed ears, he hissed and let go as if burnt. 

 

“Is she-?”

 

Cassandra stopped right next to him and stared as well. She clenched her teeth, ”What are we dealing with here?”, she asked to no one in particular. Solas carefully turned Ellana around and examined her. She would need medical attention soon, or she might not make it and told Cassandra so. Then his attention went to her mark. In contrast to the rest of her, the mark had not changed in appearance. The rift must have taken all the energy on her that it could find, burning any lingering spells that changed her appearance. Was he really so blind in this age that he could not detect simple spells anymore? Her face was covered in vallaslin as well.  _Dalish, even better_ , he sneered. Of all the damn people it had to be a dalish.

 

“Then let's get her back to Haven, now, she is still our only hope we have”, Cassandra commanded.

 

 

\------------


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that there are spoilers in this part for Dragon age Origins. I will probably also include some references to the Dragon Age books in later chapters.

Solas tried to hide a heavy sigh. Cassandra, Leliana and Commander Cullen were in a heated discussion how to handle recent events. Right next to the 'criminal', who now was a hero to the people. And it didn't help that Ana (was that really her name though?), was unconscious and her mark was unstable again. He turned his attention first to her marked hand, trying to stabilize it, but he didn't dare to use too much magic in front of these people.

 

“- and how do you want to explain her sudden change?”, Cullen said heatedly, “She _must_ be a mage! I am stationing a templar outside and -”

 

“No, she is not a criminal! You were not there at the Temple, she did everything in her power-, and the Divine called for her for help”, Cassandra cut in.

 

“Be that as it may, why was she at the Conclave in the first place? And disguised as well! She must be a spy, but to what end?”, Leliana asked. “What did you say her name was?”

 

Solas was pleased that the mark seemed to obey his orders now, and was stabilizing. Next, he turned to her other injuries. There were several cuts, places where the skin was burnt, and her ankle needed to have attention badly. She was clearly exhausted and in pain, much too pale for comfort and her long brown hair was soaked in sweat. The vallaslin of Falon'Din was mocking him, he quickly averted his eyes.

 

“-and she had a hidden dagger for what purpose exactly?”, Leliana added, “She is clearly well trained in combat, who trained her? Hhmmm”.

 

“Well, she _is_ really good with daggers, I think it unlikely she is a mage”, Cassandra commented.

 

Solas thought it best to add, “I agree with you Seeker. I have not sensed any magic from her, save the magic from the mark”. They needed to stop arguing and work together. That Breach needed to be closed properly as soon as possible. But first Ana needed to have proper care.

 

“Right, good, well-”, Cullen mumbled, scratching his neck.

 

“Did someone send for Adan?”, Solas reminded them.

 

Cullen glanced at him, before leaving the hut. “I'll get him personally”.

 

“I will let my scouts ask around, maybe she has been seen somewhere”, Leliana said when the door was closed, and walked over to Ana. She frowned, “I have seen similar markings before, but none were quite like these. Solas, do you know their meaning?”. Solas frowned, how to best explain these without causing more suspicion? Whatever his personal misgivings about her, they needed her.

 

“These are blood markings, they are common among the dalish.”

 

“Yes, but what do they mean?”

 

“They get them when they come of age, it means she is considered an adult.”

 

Leliana stared, looking annoyed.

 

“I think she means us no harm”, Cassandra interrupted, “She was glad she could help, also with the lost squid in the mountains. At the risk of her own life I might add”. Solas felt relieved, at least Cassandra believed in her.

 

Leliana narrowed her eyes, she was not happy with mysteries, but she did not have a lot of alternatives. “Alright, we will keep an eye on her, but let her think we trust her, for now.”

 

\-------------

 

Ellana was lying in the grass when she woke up. At first she did not understand, foolishly blinking her eyes against the sun. “Huh...”, she said stupidly, and slowly sat up.

 

She was in a field of green, surrounded by gray mountains and snow. There were two buildings near her, temples of sorts?

 

She stared at one for a long time, as if the image did not progress, but then a group of people came into view. Ellana slowly got to her feet, unsure what to do. Her mind was very sluggish and she couldn't make sense of the situation. That a moving statue was part of the group did not struck her as strange for some reason.

 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”, a blond guy in shinning armor asked, turning around to the rest of the group. Ellana couldn't quite catch the response and came closer.

 

Then she noticed she could look _through_ them. She stopped. _Wait a minute..._ , she looked around more closely. _This does not feel like the waking world .. this must be the Fade, I must be dreaming._

 

She turned to the group again. _Did I create this dream or is the Fade showing me something?_

 

“It makes perfect sense to practice on a dragon, the Archdemon is also a dragon”, a very large muscled men argued with a low voice. He looked .. strange .. not human, a qunari perhaps? Ellana had never met one in person.

 

The blond guy did not look happy. “Oh come on Alistair! It will be _fun!_ ”, a red haired lady answered, looking excited. _Hadn't I met her before somewhere? “_ Yeah, see it as squishing a big pigeon. Best part of the day”, the statue was saying. Ellana raised a brow, _what?_ The last person was an elven mage, no vallaslin though, and carrying a staff with a white crystal. She looked determined. “Everyone ready?”, she asked, before she blew a horn. A few seconds later, a great roar announced the arrival of a massive dragon.

 

The image shifted and suddenly they were in the middle of the battle. Ellana hold her breath, that beast was beautiful, but oh so deadly. Fire and rocks flew everywhere, the red haired rogue, _Leliana?_ , was shooting arrows before dodging the next burst of fire, clearly having the day of her life. Ice magic froze one of the dragon's legs and it shouted in anger. The blond guy was less brave, but he did gave the final blow. And he was boosting about it too afterwards. _Prick_.

 

The elven mage looked tired, but her face lit up when she saw Leliana was alright. Leliana ran towards her. “We did it!”, her eyes were bright and she looked at her lovingly.

 

The image dissolved, and she was standing in darkness, a single spirit was looking at her questioningly. It did not have a clear form, but that was not unusual. It was not the first time Ellana encountered a spirit in the fade. However, it was not often that it decided to show her something. She looked at it curiously, trying to determine was kind of spirit it was. A demon would have said something by now, or made a move to possess her. Ellana said, “Hello, who-, or what are you?”.

 

Instead of answering her, the spirit came closer and said in wonder, “You are brighter than most who visit here, wondering, searching, scared, but determined as well”. It moved in circles around her, “You don't trust the humans that claimed you, but without their trust, the world is doomed”. It slowly came to a stop in front of her, “The warden was also scared, she felt alone with a responsibility too big for her to carry.” It came so close that it almost touched her face. “Yet the right cause can unite the unlikeliest of creatures, in truth, she was never alone. Together, humans, elves and dwarves were an equal match for the darkspawn and Ferelden was saved.”

 

Ellana tilted her head. She had heard some of the stories of the Hero of Ferelden. Was that what that vision was? Why did it show -?

 

The spirit backed away again, bowing its head. “You have a big Purpose in this world, young-ling”. It turned to leave.

 

“Wait!”

 

But now the image dissolved completely and Ellana felt herself waking up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks people for reading! I enjoy writing this a lot and it is nice to see that people are actually reading this!


	4. Chapter 4

Ellana woke up in a room she did not recognize, a fellow _elf_ was afraid of her and than actually _ran_ out of her room, and apparently everyone thought her a hero?

 

_This is not happening, no this is not happening_

 

She crept to one of the windows and peeked outside. There was a crowd, all looking at the small cabin she was in.

 

_No, definitely not happening!_

 

Trying to calm down, she scanned the place and spotted a new set of leather armor. It was not of the quality that her clan made, but it would have to do. After she put them on, she spotted her reflection in a mirror and her heart stopped.

 

Her usual self stared back.

 

_Okay, not panicking, stop panicking!_

 

She paced around the room. They knew she was an elf, dalish as well!, they must know by now she was a spy and ...

 

_No, slow down..._

 

They also believed her a hero, didn't they? How did that happen again? She peeked outside once more.

 

_Right, the longer I wait here, the more people seem to assemble there._

 

She had to go outside sooner or later. No way that she was going to use the front door though. Using a window on the side of the building, she made it to the top of the building without them noticing. She took a breath, then made a run for the neighboring tree, and then the next building.

 

_Damn it, I'm already out of breath_ . _Three days of sleeping and I am already tired?!?_

 

She looked around, then spotted the Breach. In her panic she had completely forgotten what happened, but it now came rushing back. Waking in chains, pain in her hand, fighting for her life and Mahanon ... _Mahanon..._

 

A tear was running down her face and she felt numb. After a full minute, the noise around here reached her again, the wind, the murmurs of the people below.

 

There was also a noise right behind her. She wiped her face and then spotted the mark on her hand.

 

“M-my lady?”

 

She did not respond directly, instead looking at the faint green glow from her hand. It was not as bright as before, but still disturbing. Then she turned to the young man, her face a mask, studying him. He was a scout, probably on the lookout, and seemed unsure what to do.

 

Ellana released a shuddered sigh. Her clan were kind enough to take her in when she was cast out of her last clan. Mahanon had convinced them to take her in, but he was dead wasn't he? .... would they accept her back, now that she got their First killed? Her heart sank lower at the thought.

 

Let's first handle the matter at hand though.

 

“I understand that lady Cassandra is looking for me? Could you take me to her?”

 

“Oh, eh, right, sure my lady”

 

\-------------

 

The poor lad brought her all the way to a door from which a loud discussion was heard. Apparently the cleric, Roderick was it?, was demanding her execution and Cassandra was defending her. Interesting. She gave a tired smile to the scout as thanks, before pushing the door open.

 

“Chain her! I want her delivered to the capital for trial!”

 

Ellana stared at him. _What?_

 

“Disregard that and leave us.”, and the guards actually followed Cassandra's demands, good.

 

“You walk a dangerous line Seeker”

 

“The Breach is stable but is still a threat! I will not ignore it.”

 

“I did everything I could to close that damn thing, what more do you want to prove my innocence?”, Ellana said heatedly.

 

“Yet the Breach is still up there and you have blood of a hundred people on your hands!”, the Chancelor all but spat on her. He turned to Cassandra, “You defend this elf, this prisoner, for what?!? This traitor needs to be put to justice!”. Cassandra, however, stood her ground.

 

At that moment, Leliana stepped out of the shadows. Ellana took a small step back and watched how Leliana accused _him_ for being a traitor. A hot discussion followed and Cassandra snapped.  
  
“You know what this is Chancelor?”, she said after throwing a large book on the table. “A rite from the Divine, granting us the authority to act! As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn! We will close the Breach, we will find those responsible and we will restore order, with or without your approval!”

 

The Chancelor was pissed and soon left the room. Leliana was shaking her head, “We aren't ready. We have no numbers and now no Chantry support”. “But we have no choice”, Cassandra said, “We need to act now, with you on our side”. They now looked at _her_.

 

_Fuck..._

 

Her thoughts were spinning in her head. Suddenly  _she_ was the Herald of Andraste? And her mark is the only hope of closing that.. thing in the sky?  _Creaters..._

 

“This ... was not what I expected when I got here.” 

 

“When you got here for the Conclave or today?”, Leliana asked, ever observant.

 

Ellana gave a weak smile. “Both”.

 

Cassandra offered her hand, “Help us stop this, before it is too late”. Ellana took it hesitantly and shook her hand. Cassandra visibly relaxed, even giving a small smile.

 

“So ...”, Ellana started awkwardly, looking at the war table, “What is the plan?”.

 

“First, we will need to find allies, we cannot do this on our own”, Leliana started. “We also need to inform the outside world of the formation of the Inquisition.”

 

“Leave that to me, Leliana. I will also inform Cullen.”

 

“Good”, then she turned to Ellana, “And how should we call you Herald?”.

 

“My name is Ellana”. Leliana's eyes narrowed slightly. “I assume you would like to inform your clan about your stay with the Inquisition as well?”, she suggested.

 

Ellana sighed, “Yes, might as well get that over with. I will write a letter, but I have no way to deliver it. The clan is always moving place to place. You would have to send scouts to locate them.”

 

“Well, I'm sure we can miss a scout or two for this, but it will have to wait until Charter returned. I do not want to send human scouts, it might provoke them. Where did your clan camp last and how are they called?”

 

“They were in the Free Marches, near Markham, clan Lavellan, you could start there”, Leliana wrote this down.

 

Cassandra put a hand on her shoulder. “Take some rest Herald, we will find you once we have more information”. Ellana nodded vaguely and left the room.

 

 

\---------

 

 

“ _T_ _hat's the Herald? I though she was a human-”, “Ssh, she can hear you”, “She saved us! She stopped the Breach from -”, “- bloody knife-ears, I don't care she -”, “That's the_ _Herald_ _of Andraste!”_

 

She kept walking, her face set in stone, eyes to the front and her hand resting on a dagger in her belt. People were staring openly at her, but she refused to make eye contact. When she was finally out of the gates of Haven, she turned towards the Breach. She did not intent to rest as Cassandra suggested. No, instead she wanted to take a closer look at the destruction of the Conclave. Maybe, just maybe, some remains of Mahanon could be found. 

 

It was very cold, but the exercise kept her warm  enough . Also, her marked hand was strangely warm. Now that she had time to look at it, it felt strange, like old powerful magic edged into her skin and it wanted to mix with her own  magic . She had more trouble than usual to keep up the disillusion spell to mask her aura, which was second nature to her. 

 

The soldiers at the forward camp first wanted to stop her, until they noticed her marked hand, then they let her pass. Once she finally arrived at the destroyed temple, she paused. The Breach was still there, high up in the sky, and the mark was reacting to it now it was close by. There was still a smell of burned corpses, some of them were  _still_ burning. She ignored it, however, and instead tried to remember how the temple looked like before the explosion. 

 

_Where was the entrance that we took? Mahanon went left, I went right ..._

 

After an hour of searching  through the stone and dirt , the only things she found were  two  broken helmets, pieces of glass  and small bones.  Some of the stuff might have been rings or other ornaments at one point, but they were melted together to bits of metal.

 

She sat down on a big rock to rest.  _Well, it was too much to hope for anyway._ Yet she  _had_ hoped to find something, even though it is probably meters below the ru b ble. The whole building collapsed, why did she expect to find anything? She bowed her head and tried not to let the tears win.

 

“The chosen of Andraste”, Ellana gasped, she had not notice anyone approaching and she quickly turned around.

 

“The blessed hero to save us all”, the tall bald elf was approaching her, his head tilled to the side, studying her.

 

“I did not ask for this, if that's what you are implying, but someone has to do something about that hole in the sky.”

 

“Spoken nobily indeed”

 

Ellana regarded him, was he mocking her?

 

“You think I'm mocking you. This age has made people cynical.”

 

He went and sit next to her. “You are being missed, Cassandra is about to send out a search party. Why are you here?”

 

“Ha! Sure, they say I'm not a prisoner anymore, but I should have known that is just a fluke.” She sighed, “In truth, I will only be free after this whole ordeal is over or when I'm dead”, she said sarcastically. “Why are _you_ here anyway?”.

 

Solas slightly frowned, “As I said the day we met, I know much of the Fade and I came here to offer what help I can with the Breach.” He stared at the green hole in the sky and continued. “I have journeyed far into the Fade in dreams and have seen things that you cannot imagine, learned things you cannot imagine.” He returned his gaze to her again. “Every age has its hero's, I'm curious to what kind you'll be”.

 

She sighed, “Great hero I am, already hundreds have died by one action involving me”, she gestured around. “It's .. worrisome that I should be the one to change all this”, she confessed.

 

“Do not forget, they think you are the Herald, their savior. You can rally these people like no one else can. That mark you bare has immense power. If you will not help close the Breach, who will?”, he wondered.

 

They were silent for some time, both lost in thoughts. Ellana was staring at her hand. At the first rift three days ago, Solas had taken her hand and seemed just what to do with it.

 

“Is it troubling you?”

 

“Not too much”, she assured him, “You seem to know much about the mark though.”

 

“Yes, I have studied magic and the Fade for a long time.” and after a moment pause he added “I am a Dreamer”.

 

“What really? That's impressive”

 

“Thank you. It has given me insights on a number of occasions and also opportunities to rediscover lost history.”

 

“Such as?”

 

“Such as the temple here, it was discovered by the hero of Ferelden. What people have forgotten that before that, the temple was used to worshiping dragons, also in the name of Andraste,” Solas gave a small smile “and before that, if belonged to the elves”.

 

“It must be amazing to dream with such focus. Do you do that every night? Don't you get exhausted after?”, she wondered.

 

“I explore the Fade most evenings and no it is not tiring at all. To me, it feels as natural as breathing.”

 

He then switched topic. “I've got to ask, how _did_ you manage to change your appearance so the first day?”

 

She answered truthfully, “I did no such thing”. Solas raised an eyebrow and she continued, “I did not cast the spell, a .. good friend of mine did though, and a bloody good spell it was”. He frowned, “If that was a spell, then why did I not detect it at the time?”

 

“Maybe you are not a sensitive enough a person?” she joked.

 

His mouth twitched and he rubbed his lips to hide it. “I doubt that” he said quietly.

 

“Though it would explain why Varric calls you 'Chuckles'”

 

Solas gave a short laugh, “maybe”. She stared at him. Even though she did not fully trust him yet, he was an interesting character and difficult to read. Ellana had not met a Dreamer before and she had loads of other questions to ask. However, she did not want to bombard him with questions. She also noticed he was rather handsome, even for his lack of hair.

 

She thought better to change the subject, “Did you lose someone close in the explosion?”

 

It took some time before he answered, “Yes”, he said softly. But he did not elaborate, nor meet her gaze.

 

“Me too”

 

Before she could continue however, they were interrupted by a group of soldiers, let by Cassandra and her face a storm cloud.

 

“There she is!”, she sprinted over to them.

 

“Ahh.. I guess you weren't joking about that search party, huh?”, said Ellana while standing up.

 

“Afraid not”, and Solas followed.

 

“What do you think you are doing?!?” Cassandra demanded as soon she was in hearing range.

 

“What does it look like?”, Ellana asked, but Cassandra was in no mind for games. She shook Ellana by the shoulders. “You must realize how this looks like! You agreed to help us and then you sneak off while you promised to rest!”

 

Ellana freed herself forcefully. “You said I was no prisoner anymore, but it certainly does not feel that way”.

 

“Yet you return to the field of crime right after your release! You must realize that looks suspicious! Not to mention your sudden change of appearance and all .. ”, Cassandra trailed off.

 

“Yeah, I was wondering when that would come up. Funnily enough, Chuckles here was the first to ask me how that worked exactly”, and when that did not seem to satisfy Cassandra at all, she added “Look, I came here to try to remember. Look at if from my perspective. You claim I stepped out of a rift with this mark on there, of which I have no memories, and suddenly I am your only hope of salvation? No pressure right? And just so you know, you are not the only one who lost someone close during the blast”.

 

There was an awkward silence.

 

“I.. I did not consider ..”

 

“Yeah right, who considers a knife-ear has feelings?”

 

Solas stepped in, “I doubt the Herald was performing a dark ritual to rise the dead Cassandra. We were just spending some time here. It is a lot to take in after all.”

 

Cassandra considered him, then turned and motioned them to follow. “Such business are better suited in Haven. Why come all the way here?”

 

“I don't like to be overheard by staring fans”, Ellana said sarcastically, but followed her anyway. This Inquisition was taking a lot of her self control, and her freedom. She wondered how long it would take before she would freak out.

 

“I daresay they will stop staring after a few days when the news wears off.” Cassandra said.

 

Solas very slightly shook his head like he disagreed, but he didn't say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that there are (arbeit vague) spoilers of Thresspasser DLC in this chapter.

The following few days, Ellana got used to this weird new situation of being the 'Herald of Andraste'. A lot of people were in awe, some were still in shock of what happened at the Conclave, and others thought she was still the evil bad guy.. or woman ... whatever. Some were even so angry that they tried to attack her downright, but then Inquisition soldiers would intervene. _I guess I should be happy I'm_ _constantly_ _being followed._

 

For Ellana, it was just one big nightmare with Mahanon gone and so many people hating her or worse, worshiping her. Some people were not too bad though, like Adan and Lysette. They were just down to earth sort of people and did not judge her for her pointy ears and tattoos. Harritt was even interested in some of her gear and how it was made. They had spend over an hour going over new schematics and which materials would be best for it. And then there was Varric, who seemed it necessary to take her to the tavern every night to drink away her sorrows. He started to call her 'Sunshine', though she was anything but.

 

Cullen did not trust Ellana, that much was obvious. However, he was slowly warming to her when he noticed her dedication for training and filling the requisitions. In just a few days, Harritt had enough iron  and leather to supply the new recruits with swords and armor, and Adan suddenly was able to make more powerful potions ( _really, do shems not see the overflow of elfroot in this place?)_ . It also helped that Ellana greeted him every time when she passed.  _Keep your friends close, keep your enemies even closer_ , she thought. There was always a chance that Ellana would slip up and reveal she was a mage, and with the current tensions ... best to keep the templer on her good side.  And besides, he was kinda nice,  though prejudiced against mages .

 

Whenever Ellana got the chance, she would drop by Solas. She was intrigued with him, I mean, who wouldn't be? A Dreamer who knew more about the fade and spirits then anyone she had met before! He reminded her a bit of Mahanon, who was also deeply interested in elven history and magic. Though, she must confess,  Mahanon's views and Solas  his  views were vastly different.  Especially in the beginning, Solas and Ellana  had ...well ...  _heated_ discussion s about the history of elves  and the elven gods . When Solas started to sneer at the Dalish a bout how wrong they remember their own history, she had said, “I am surprised  that you, a loner, have not been able to  _convert_ the  Dalish with your  dashingly good social skills”. He had frowned at her, clearly showing his annoyance for once. “But seriously Solas,” she continued “I don't know which clan you have met that treated you unfairly, and trust me when I say I also have experience with this,” h e looked surprised at that, “but I am more open than most Dalish to new ideas.  I just like to be judged on grounds of my actions, not  on  my appearances or the so-called 'social group' I belong to. ” He had looked a bit uncomfortable at that and actually apologized for his rudeness. 

 

At night, Ellana would get these lucid dreams. Usually, her dreams didn't make any sense and she did not have much control over them. Now however, she knew she  was dreaming from the start and could actually steer her dreams in ways she wanted them to go.  Also, s pirits would try to talk to her, though those would more often be demons.  Just last night, three wisps were so exited with her they followed her around, giggling in their own mysterious ways. It must be the mark that give her more power or something, not that she would mention it to others just yet. 

 

A week pasted in this fashion, until they got word from a 'Mother Giselle', who wanted to speak with Ellana. “We plan to go there tomorrow," Cassandra was saying, “and chances are we will stay in the region for some time. Take that into account while packing”. _Packing? What stuff do I own here that I can 'pack' exactly?_ Indeed, she had very little stuff to pack and she was finished within a few minutes, giving her the rest of the day free. She paused. Leliana had asked her to start writing a letter for her clan as well, but she did not have the courage to start. Every time she tried, she was overcome with grief. On the other hand, she would have to finish it at one point, and it was probably better that she finished it before they left for the Hinterlands. Her clan needed to know what happened ....

 

It took her more than 2 hours to complete the damn letter, but finally she did manage. It took her another half hour to compose herself enough that she could give the letter to Leliana. She did not know what to think of her. In the fade vision, Leliana was much more positive, even playful. This Leliana however was gloomy and super serious. Then again, she did loose a friend in the Divine though. Of course she would be upset.

 

Ellana desperately needed a drink, but the tavern was not open yet. Instead, she walked around a bit to distract her from her thoughts. Then she noticed that Solas his door stood ajar. _Weird, that never happened before_.

 

 

\---------- [change of POV]

 

 

Why they wanted Solas to join the trip to the Hinterlands was beyond him, probably they did not have any other mages in the Inquisition to ask. Maybe they finally trusted him enough, which was also good. Of course he would join, without him Ellana would probably die. The mark still tended to go unstable when used too often and if there were really as many rifts as Cassandra suggested there were .... Guilt again threatened to overtake him again, but he pressed it away. He needed to stay focused. Staying with this 'Inquisition' was a risk, but it also provided him with the information he needed. And it gave him a chance to gently put his own spies in place as well.

 

Solas bowed over his backpack. It was already full with the daily stuff he would need, but he also wanted to bring some books. Cassandra mentioned that this trip could take quite some time. He did not want to sit idle at the camp fire. On the other hand, he could not bring all of it with him. He sighed, looking at the rows of books before him, which ones to bring?

 

Then he felt Ellana's presence, or rather the presence of the mark, at the door. Without looking, he said, “You can come in if you like”, and took the next book to skim through it. She took some steps towards him, “What are you looking for?”. He gave a small smile. “Wisdom I guess”, he sighed, then put the book aside and took the next one.

 

Her eyes took in all the different books, “Where did you get those? These were not here yesterday”. He turned to look at her. It was funny how different she was from what he had initially expected. He had expected her to be as savage, ignorant and stubborn as the first clan he had approached. However, she turned out to be anything but. _Okay, maybe she is stubborn, but not overly so_. Most surprising, she was willing to listen and full of questions. The debates they had were ... refreshing.

 

“These books just arrived today. They are for the Inquisition library at my suggestion. It is really a shame that we are already leaving tomorrow. I want to bring some of them with us, but so far I have not decided yet which ones.”

 

She turned to look at him and again he was struck with her pale green eyes. It was in contrast with her dark brown hair, which today was bound back into a pony tail. A few hairs stuck out stubbornly though. Were it not for the vallaslin .. _no,_ _don't think about it_.. He turned back to the books.

 

“I could help you if you like. I have already packed. Ah, now that I think of it, I _might_ still have some room in my bag”.

 

The sarcasm was not lost to Solas.

 

“I .. yes, thank you”

 

Together they went through the pile of books. Ellana made a selection of some promising looking books, and Solas did the same. Together they went over the final pile and discussed which would most likely be relevant to get more insight in closing the Breach. In the end they were left with only six books.

 

“I daresay we can bring all of them, if we split them over our luggage”, Ellana continued with a small smile. “Are you sure you want to burden yourself with these?” Solas asked her, he did not want to burden her further with his own needs. She carried his mark already after all. Her smile grew, “Sure, I think I would want to read some of these as well anyway”.

 

“Really?”, he asked in slight disbelief.

 

“Really.” She looked questioningly at him, “Why the doubt? You think I am illiterate or something?”

 

“I made no such assumption”, he assured her, “It's just that you seem busy with other activities most of the time. You didn't seem ... the type of person to enjoy reading”.

 

She waved vaguely with her hand, “Well, if I am to save the world, I might as well try to find out as much as I can about the Veil and the Breach. Seems more than logical to me”. Ellana sighed, her eyes were distant again, as though the burden of reality was hunting her. Now that Solas looked more closely, her eyes did seem rather red. “Are you alright?”

 

She looked at him and gave a small smile, “I ... yeah, sure, or will be in any case”. Then she got up to leave, taking several books with her. “Anyway, see you tomorrow?”

 

“Tomorrow”, Solas bowed his head and then watched her leave. _Interesting character indeed ..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of blood in this chapter, be warned.

_Leliana,_

 

_We have made good time to the Hinterlands, and to be honest, it is a battlefield here. The apostates have gone mad with power, though the templars are not much better. They do not care who is stuck between them, it is a disgrace!_

 

_We were lucky that we arrived when we did. The fighting had reached Mother Giselle, but we have been able to subdue the fighting. Now are helping out the refugees best we can._

 

_I know you do not trust our new ... companion, but I have found no reason to be suspicious. Sure, she does not like to talk much about her past, but her concern for the helpless is sincere. Does it really matter that we don't know why she left her first clan? Besides, she also saved my life twice already, taking out rogues that tried to attack me from behind._

 

_Our plans are to stabilize the area and to talk to horse master Dennet before returning, let Cullen know we will need some extra soldiers send to the crossroads. The people here are in desperate need of help._

 

_Sincerely,_

 

_Cassandra_

 

 

“Oh come on, it will be fun! I swear I will go easy on you!”

 

“Even though the weather here is much warmer than in Haven, I don't like losing my cloths to this game of yours Varric”

 

“Who said anything about betting your cloths? We can start without actually betting anything you know.”

 

Ellana sighed, “'We can start without betting anything', seems to suggest you actually want to win my fancy knickers after a drink or two.” She raised an eyebrow at him, trying her best not to laugh in his face. _Hehehe he is actually blushing!_

 

Solas was laughing in the background without making a sound. _Ha, I knew he was just pretending to read_. Cassandra was trying to ignore it all, seemingly immersed in writing a letter, though her scowl proved otherwise.

 

“Now now, I cannot have Bianca becoming jealous you know” he said, “Though it would be a good story, what would people pay for the knickers of the 'Herald of Andraste'?”.

 

She indulged him for a few more minutes, before walking off to collect some more herbs. Though 'picking herbs' was now more often an excuse to walk off alone than anything else. They were in the Hinterlands for two weeks already, and tomorrow they planned to attack the templars camp. There was a lot of fighting going on, and she had recently acquired new scars to prove it. During one of the first attacks, she had gotten a nasty deep cut, which Solas had healed in a matter of seconds. What was disturbing was how pleasant that had felt, his aura unconsciously meeting hers. She blushed at the memory. In her first clan, healing had felt painful. Mahanon's magic had tickled, and he would tease her about it too. With Solas however ... let's just say she had quickly recovered her arm from his grip, her face red and continued walking, muttering something about barriers that came too late. He had scolded, but not said anything.

 

She tried to keep the number of injuries to a minimum after that, just to prevent him from healing her again.

 

Ellana returned her attention back to the task at hand. There were a lot of blood lotus in this area, which was very good, Adan would be 'happy' to upgrade the potions again. _But maybe he will be happier when I show him the Grenade recipe we have found the other day._ She felt a wicked grin forming at the thought.

 

 

\---------------------

 

 

“Right, we will need to take out the archers quickly”, Cassandra was whispering to them, “then I will engage that group of three over there. Varric, you cover me”

 

Ellana frowned. They were just about to attack the templar camp, overlooking the 'secret' entrance. Though, she had a bad feeling about this. What if there were more numbers than what they could see in the back? Cassandra was strong, yes, but taking on three plus maybe more? That was close to reckless. She must be really angry with these people. She locked eyes with Solas and gave a small shake of her head, then motioned for him to cover Cassandra as well. She had a feeling this was going to be harder than it looked. He frowned slightly, considering, before giving a small nod. Good.

 

“I will take the archers, wait until they are down, then attack”, Ellana was whispering back, then went into stealth mode. She moved swiftly and soundlessly behind one archer and took him down without him making a sound. Then, before his partner knew what was happening, she slit the throat of the other. Nobody noticed anything yet, so far so good. Then Cassandra went in with a roar, attacking the small group of templars. The fight was bloody, especially on the templars side. Apparently they did not really consider the possibility of an attack on their main base. Before long, the templars were all dead, or so they thought. They were just discussing about searching the camp when suddenly Solas his eyes were wide and looking just behind her. Then, she felt a knife on her throat.

 

Pain, then she couldn't breath and blood was down her front in waves. Her vision was going hazy quickly and she fell to the ground. Around her there were screams, one of which was Cassandra, and the sound of arrows from Varric. Then suddenly, someone was strangling her, hands on her throat, and magic was all around. Her flesh was being knitted back together at an alarming rate. Her own aura was singing in response, pain and pleasure in equal amounts. Her vision was growing dark, desperate for a breath of air.

 

The next thing she remembered was coughing up blood from her lungs and gasping in much needed air. Cassandra, Varric and Solas had their back turned to her, protecting her at all costs. Solas clearly had spent all his mana healing her, just in time, and was now attacking a nearby rogue with his staff. She noticed she was lying in a pool of blood, _my own?_ Ellana fumbled for a potion at her belt, and after some effort managed to drain it. Her vision became sharper and she noticed another rogue in the bushes. Before it could attack as well, she took hold of her dagger and threw it right into his skull. He fell dead to the ground.

 

By now, the fight seemed really over, and they quickly turned to her. “Herald! Are you alright?!?”, Cassandra was very pale, either from the shock of almost loosing their 'Herald' or from the fighting, Ellana did not know.

 

“Y-yeah, think so”, she rasped. She coughed, “bit too close for comfort”, she spit out some more blood, before taking the water that Solas offered. He was looking worried, but also relieved. His hands were soaked with her blood and Ellana found she could not look him in the eye. “Thanks”.

 

“Damn Sunshine, let's not repeat that any time soon shall we?”

 

They helped her up, and Cassandra insisted on going straight back to camp. Ellana did not even object when Solas insisted on supporting her all the way. When next she looked in a mirror, she had bruises on her neck where Solas had gripped her and had a faint scar on her throat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think and thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

“You have got to be more careful”, Cassandra was saying, “If you die, we have no way of closing that Breach and Thedas is doomed”.

 

They were preparing for bed and Ellana was sharing the tent with her as usual. In the tent near to them she could hear Varric trying to make small talk without real success.

 

She rubbed her throat, remembering the days events. “You should not go and attack the group with only Varric for cover though, that is too dangerous.”

 

“So, you send Solas to cover me as well? Should have known, I was wondering why he gave _me_ a barrier and not _you_ ”.

 

She gave a dry laugh, “Oh, well, half the time his barriers are too late anyway”, Ellana joked. She heard a faint 'excuse me?' in the dignified voice of Solas, as though he had heard her comment, and Varric chuckled in response.

 

“This is _not_ a laughing matter!”, Cassandra turned to face her, “You think you dying is funny? You have to be more careful! You are no use to anyone if you are dead”.

 

Ellana closed her eyes and sighed in irritation. Almost the exact same words were said to her before, years ago, before she had chosen her vallaslin. Her parents had recently died and her brother, no doubt not thinking by grief, attacked a great bear near the camp single handed. By then, she was so grieved she could not control her magic anymore like she used to and she was thrown out of the clan. It was not like anyone in her old clan _liked_ her after her magic manifested. _Demon touch_ ed _,_ they would call her, with fear in their eyes. The death of her parents and brother was probably the excuse they needed to get rid of her. After some months wondering around on her own, she found a group of shems taking elves hostage. Apparently they were on the market for slaves and thought her an easy prey. Little did they know ...

 

That was how she met Mahanon. He had convinced Deshanna to let her stay. Also, he had helped her control her magic again and told her not to fear who she was. At one point she was so depressed he had said, _What use are you_ _to the world_ _dead? You can give ease with your_ _delusions_ _, protect us from harm. Why is that a bad thing?_ Little by little, she had accepted her powers, mastered them. Though the rest of the clan also feared her, she had tried to befriend some of them. The hunters did appreciate her skills, as long as she did not turn anyone purple. Yes, if she was useful, then people appreciated her, apart from that, few people liked her for who she was...

 

Ellana turned to Cassandra again. “No, I didn't mean it like that. But what do you expect me to do? If I want to contribute, I must be in the middle of the battle. I'm no good with a bow.”

 

“Then maybe you should practice”, Cassandra snapped.

 

_Yeah, like that is going to work out ..._ “ So you want me to keep out of the heat of battle until  _after_ we closed the Breach? When I am no longer useful?”

 

Cassandra looked like she had struck her. “No, that's not ... I didn't mean ...“, she  looked  mightily uncomfortable .

 

“I am also not a person to do paper work you know, I'm a fighter and a damn good one. We just ... need to plan better”, Ellana finished. “Planning is something we can improve”, Cassandra said carefully.

 

Somewhat satisfied, Ellana got more comfortable in her blankets. A silence fell for a few minutes.

 

“There is still the camp of the rebel mages...”

 

“Blood mages you mean”, Ellana murmured.

 

“Yes, that, we cannot let them take this region.”

 

She looked over to Cassandra, “So what do you propose?”. She was not sure if she felt ready for another surprise attack, she still felt weak.

 

“Well, I think it is best to wait for reinforcements. If all goes well, they should be here within a week or so.”

 

“You already asked for reinforcements?”

 

“Yes I did, after I had seen how bad the situation was here.”

 

Ellana considered. “Maybe we can contact master Dennet in the meantime?”

 

Cassandra turned to her, “That's .. a good idea”. “Ah, I only have good ideas you know”.

 

She snorted in response, “I don't think betting with Varric can be put in the category 'good ideas'”.

 

Ellana closed her eyes again, a smile on her face. “Maybe, but it's fun”. Now the silence was long enough that she was drifting off to sleep.

 

Within minutes she was walking in the fade. It was much more fun here than at Haven, fewer demons that tried to tempt her and more friendly spirits. She had already seen history of times so old she was not sure which century it belonged to, though sometimes she could guess. The hordes of darkspawn were likely from about 10 years ago, judging from the armor and general conversation. Sometimes, spirits just tried to talk to her. And, if she would be very friendly, they would share their knowledge with her. _This must be how Solas explores the fade_ , she thought, excited. She learned more about the Veil and the Breach than reading those books that they brought for their trip. In the end, she had abandon every attempt to read them and instead focused on finding out more in her dreams. And Varric stories were a better way of spending the time around the campfire anyway.

 

The next day, they were heading out to approach master Dennet. At breakfast, Ellana noticed that Solas had an ugly bruise at the side of his neck. Most of it seemed hidden though, as though it went further down his shoulder. “He, Solas, you alright?”

 

“I'm sorry?”

 

She motioned to his neck. “That's a nasty bruise there”

 

“Ah, no it's nothing”

 

_Well it doesn't look like it_ . Ellana went closer to inspect, but Solas shrugged her of, his ears turning a little red at the intrusion of his personal space. “It does not look like 'nothing'”

 

“Nothing is broken, it just a bit sore, it will heal”. He turned to her, a little smile on his face. “Nothing to be concerned about Herald”. “You can call me Ellana you know, or Sunshine if you really want to stick to titles”, she said, before turning back to her food. After a moment or so, she added “Thank you by the way, for yesterday, were it not for your quick reaction..” _I would have been dead._

 

She could not read his face, how did he manage to keep it so neutral most of the time?

 

“You are very welcome”

 

A silence fell after that, that was broken by Cassandra, who announced they were moving out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you have a it bit more insight in what Ellana is hiding. I have some major events planned out, but the rest is open. I am still not sure, for instance, whether she should choose the Templars or Mages, both could fit with her character.
> 
> Anyway, thank for reading! Also thanks for the kudo's! It's nice to see people like the story so far.


	8. Chapter 8

_Finally_ , Ellana thought when they saw Haven in the distance. It had taken them long enough, longer than the trip towards the Hinterlands. That could be due to the extra amount of people they brought back. Some people were eager to join their cause after seeing her in person, while some scouts (probably Leliana's doing) thought it necessary to guard their 'Herald' on the way back. It was scary really, the amount of influence she had over these people. Even Cassandra started listening to her.

 

She did not have enough influence to charm Master Dennet however. They _still_ did not have the extra horses. Apparently he had a whole wish list of his own. And they would not get the horses if he did not get his watch towers. _Ah nothing is ever easy around here._

 

Once they were inside the village, Ellana dropped of her bag in her cabin. She looked around, and noted that nothing had changed. A few empty sheets of paper were still present on her desk and her mind was instantly drawn to the memory when she was writing a letter for her clan. Her heart sank at the thought. In the Hinterlands she had tried to push away every thought about Mahanon, instead she had focused on the tasks at hand. There were so many people who needed their help. And it did felt good to help people. Here however, it was more difficult to ignore the feeling of loss. Had the clan received the news yet of Mahanon? Had they thrown her out officially now? Suddenly she wished she was back in the field again, with Cassandra, Varric and Solas. They had become quite a team, almost like a small clan. She had considered several times to just tell them she was a mage, they were bound to discover it sooner or later. She had used her powers discreetly during the battle with the blood mages. So much magic in the air, they did not even notice. Also, she used it in secret to lift the spirit of some of the refugees. However, if she told the rest of the team about her powers, they would hate her for it. Well, maybe not Solas, but Cassandra would. Even Varric would not be easy around her anymore, she thought. _Manipulator, freak, d_ _emon._ Before her thoughts could go further, Cassandra was knocking on her door.

 

“Come on, we need to report now the information is still fresh! See you in the war room as soon as possible.”

 

“You said the same thing when you were writing that report letter two days ago”, Ellana said halfheartedly, though not loud enough for Cassandra to hear her. _Might as well get it over with_.

 

During her walk to the war room, she noticed that Haven seemed to have doubled in the amount of people, now that they brought back so many new recruits and volunteers. Where would they sleep? They would need to build more cabins, or at least make more tents.

 

When she arrived, Liliana and Cassandra were already there. “Ah, Harald, I heard that your trip has been a great success”, Liliana greeted her, “You must be tired from all the excitement, no?”. Ellana gave a small smile in return, Liliana almost looked like the person years back, the one she had seen in the vision the spirit had showed her. “Maybe it was a bit _too_ exciting. I would be glad to gets some rest”.

 

Liliana's smile grew, “You will be glad to hear we got a response back from your clan. They were saddened by the news of their _First_ dying during the Conclave, but they were relieved to hear you survived. They have added a personal letter for you”, she handed her the letter, all the while studying Ellana for any reaction.

 

A wave of emotion went through her, but she tried to keep her face from betraying them. Her hand shook though when she accepted the letter. The envelop was thick. Without looking at it further, she put it in her pocket to read later. “Thank you Liliana, this means a lot to me”, she forced a small smile on her face, even though she was terrified what the letter would contain. If they were kicking her out, then the letter would be short, right?

 

Liliana eyes had narrowed slightly when she added, “None of your fellow clan members gave a lot of information about you. Though they did mention you were not in their clan your whole life.” She waited for Ellana to break the silence, which Ellana refused. Instead, she looked at the war table. A lot more markers were added since the last time she had seen them. “One of your friends seemed to understand you were cast out of your previous clan even”, Liliana added when she did not respond. “I find that strange, since you are clearly a goodhearted person, given your dealings with the refugees in the Hinterlands”. Ellana now studied Liliana in return. The smile from earlier was almost completely gone, instead there was a calculated look in her eyes. _She is testing me. How much does she know?_

 

No way she was going to relate the particulars why she was thrown out of her first clan. _Best to change the subject altogether, before it get's even more personal._ “I have heard stories about you Liliana”, She said, “I understand that you were a bard once, I cannot imagine such a life. So much intrigue, death, politics. And then you also traveled with the hero of Ferelden. You have seen a lot of things in the world. I wonder, what was it that changed you so? You were happy with her and now it seems your life is only duty, why?” She really was curious why Leliana had changed so much compared to the vision she had seen.

 

Liliana looked surprised, Cassandra confused, but at that moment Cullen and Josephine entered the room. “Herald! It is delighted to see you. I hope your travel was a good one?”, Josephine, ever polite, ask kindly. Ellana straightened and turned towards the two newcomers. “Thank you Josephine”, she forced a smile and continued, “The travel went good enough, though I daresay the Hinterlands still needs our help, right Cassandra?”. “Ehm, yes, indeed”

 

A discussion on what to do followed, where Leliana kept shooting her curious looks. Ellana felt angry, her magic right beneath her fingertips, begging to be used, but she pushed it back. Now was not the time. _What did the clan tell Leliana?_

 

When the meeting was over, she rushed back to her cabin to read the letter from her clan. It turned out to contain several letters, one from the Keeper and others from the hunters. Of course they were crushed by Mahanon's death, but they did not blame her for it. Deshanna even wrote: _“_ _I know that you would have gladly taken his place if you could”._ They were somewhat confused by the news of the Breach though. One of the hunters wrote, “ _Is there really a hole it the sky? As in, demons raining instead of water_ _and shit_ _?”_

 

Well, close to right?

 

The letter from the Keeper was the longest and also contained a warning. “ _The Shems are a curious sort of people, and they are very curious about you. They do not know the ways of our clan and I will make no exception with these 'elven scouts'. Remember you have a place here, whatever title they give you, do not forget your roots. “_

 

From that paragraph she understood that they did not tell Leliana anything about her. Probably only that she was good with daggers, but nothing about her magic or the reason why she was cast out before. A warm feeling of gratitude spread in her chest. The letter finished with a long description of what happened in the time she was away.

 

The letters were way kinder than she expected. It was touching and she missed them almost as much as Mahanon at that moment.

 

After a while, she did not want to sit there on her own anymore, but she did not want to talk with people either. In the end, she decided to visit Solas.

 

She knocked before entering his cabin.

 

“Ah, Herald,” he smiled (or gave a small grin, which in his case is the same), “please come in and close the door.”

 

He was sitting at his desk, mending some of his cloths and wearing a short sleeved shirt instead of his sweater. Goosebumps were covering his arms. She quickly closed the door and walked further in.

 

“Hey, I was wondering”, she paused, second guessing herself. Wouldn't she just be a burden?

 

“.. wondering?”, he watched her, waiting for her to finish her question.

 

“Could you ... tell one of your stories? You know, of what you saw in the Fade?“

 

His smile widened just a little bit. “Of course”.

 

During his story he continued mending his things, though so now and then he would look at her. Ellana sat down nearby on the floor (there was only one chair, and his bed felt too personal). His aura felt differently now, more at peace, calm. He did not keep it so close by anymore, like he felt comfortable around her. It felt warm, reassuring.

 

At some point he must have thought she had dozed off, for Solas gently said, “Ellana?”

 

“Hmm?” She didn't open her eyes. Did he notice he had just used her name instead of her 'title' for once? “You really should not sleep here”, he remarked. Instead of answering him, she asked, “What happened to the girl after?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

She opened her eyes lazily to look at him, “The one that put sugar in the bread. Surely someone noticed this small act of rebellion. I find it hard to imagine it would have been tolerated.”

 

He looked at her with a small smile on his face, his eyes roaming over her face, studying her. He really had such nice eyes .... “Yes, true, though I think that is a story for another time. You really should go to bed Herald.”

 

She sighed, but got up and stretched. On her way out she said, “Sleep well then”.

 

“And the same to you”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I was finishing my thesis in the last two weeks! Did I mention I will be moving soon as well? Sigh, so many changes in a short time ... I'll try to keep updating though, I like this story so far.


	9. Chapter 9

Over the next few days, Ellana kept herself busy with requisitions. Due to the large number of new recruits and volunteers, they were now low on just about everything. Cullen and Josephine were working hard to establish new supply lines, making new connections and scouting for resources.

 

Small explosions could be heard near Adan's cabin, where he was optimizing the fire bomb recipe that Ellana found. She never had seen him in better spirits, though it made the other people nervous. To lessen the tensions in the air, she tried to mask some of the explosions with illusion spells whenever she could, though it was not easy. Especially since Leliana kept a closer eye on her. They thought they were being discrete, but Ellana knew when she was being watched or followed. Also, Leliana now made a point to talk to her every day, just small talk, trying to get into her good books. However, Ellana knew better than to trust her.

 

They also brought several monster samples to Manaeve. Ellana felt for her, being left on her own at such a young age, just because she's a mage. At least Ellana had been a teenager at the time. Manaeve was really unlucky with the clan she was born in. Ellana asked her a lot of questions concerning the circle, templars and the tranquil. Especially the tranquil made her feel uneasy. They did not feel _real_. Like their body was there, but their spirit remained somewhere else.

 

Where Leliana was full of suspicion, Cullen considered her a steadfast ally. Ellana felt safe to ask him questions about his background, why he had chosen a templar life and how he came to be part of the inquisition. When she noticed he was uncomfortable, she stopped prying, for which he seemed to be grateful. In turn, he asked a few questions concerning her clan. How did they life? What was her task in the clan? That sort of thing. It felt safe to tell him how the hunters taught her all they knew about daggers and how she helped with the hunt. She left out the part where she helped the passing of some of the older clan members, to make sure their ending was painless.

 

\-----------------------------------------

 

Ellana was just returning to her cabin, when she overheard some of the people in camp arguing about her. She kept to the shadows to listen.

 

“You should not put your money on a filthy knife-ear!”

 

“You do know she saved a lot of people in the Hinterlands? You should be grateful the Maker send her!”

 

“Yes, and how much good did it do? Now half of them scavengers go and sit on their arches here, do nothing but eating our food, sleeping all day and we go hungry! She is a curse I tell yah!”

 

Ellana's blood began to boil. _Ungrateful brat._ _A curse am I? I could give you one._ She started to collect her mana for a spell to give him a scare of his life, but then she remembered Mahanon's voice. _Vengeance will not make you feel better, nor will it give you friends, only enemies._ She closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, took a deep breath, then walked up to the arguing pair. They were attracting a crowd by now. “Is there a problem?”

 

“You! You are tha problem around here!”, he advanced several steps towards her, but she did not retreat. “Letting them vultures come and steal our food and do nothing for it! Sleeping out in the cold and for what?!? For some filthy knife-ear who plays the Maker?!?” He spat on the ground right in front of her.

 

The reaction of the crowd was immediate. Most were outraged, but some seemed to agree with this man. Ellana narrowed her eyes and, with difficulty, kept her anger in check. She advanced a few steps towards him. Her right hand was fixed at her dagger on her belt. “For a filty shem you are remarkably clean, like you do no work yourself. You want food, place to sleep? Why not work for it first?”

 

He made a move as if to strike her, but Cullen intervened, separating her from the man. “ENOUGH, What's going on here?”. “You protect his filthy knife-ear!?! She is a -”

 

But Cullen did not even let him finish, “YOU WILL ADRESS HER WITH RESPECT!”. Several people backed away, rarely seeing Cullen so enraged, Ellana included. “Did you all forget she stopped the Breach from growing?!? Are you all so blinded that you cannot look further than her ears!?!”, he looked mightily disappointed in the people around him. “W-well said sir”, one of the onlookers remarked, several people murmured their agreement, while others looked ashamed. The troublemaker still looked angry though, but he backed off.

 

“Thanks Cullen”, Ellana said when the people went about their business. He waved her off, “Don't mention it”. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “The limiting supplies has everyone on edge, it was only a matter of time that fights would break out over it”. He had dark circles under his eyes, like he had not been sleeping well. Later that night, she went by his tent to sooth his nightmares and ensure a good night rest.

 

\--------------

 

“I heard what happened. Are you alright Sunshine?”

 

“Huh”, she said in one big sigh. “Good question, I don't know anymore.”

 

They were walking towards Val Royeaux to convince the Chantry Ellana was not a devil ( _Ah, like that would work_ ) and Ellana had been unusually quiet the whole day. She stared up to the sky. The Breach was not clearly visible here, but still you could see green lines in the clouds. “There is always something isn't there? 'bout half the people see me as trouble, while the other half praise me into the sky, putting me right next to the 'Maker'. Lovely, just lovely”, she finished sarcastically. Like hell. Did she really considered telling them she was a mage? Really? It would tip the balance to about 100% hating her, that would make things less complicated at least ...

 

“Oh come on Sunshine, just smile and you will win them over!”

 

“I doubt it will be that easy master Tethras”. “Ah, Solas, why so pessimistic? Sunshine here is a great person, even a blind person can see that. The people in Val Royeaux must have heard about what happened in the Hinterlands, right? And not to mention, she stopped the Breach and damn near closed the thing!”. Solas did not look too convinced. 

 

Nor did Cassandra it seemed, “Yet it is still far from closed”, she finished, “Let's just keep moving”. For once, Ellana agreed.

 

When they neared the gates, one of Leliana's spies informed them of the crowd and templars that had gathered. “They want to protect the people from the Inquisition!”

 

Yes, it was official, nothing was ever easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit short, and with little Solas interaction, but that will change.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long! I hope you guys like this chapter, it was surprisingly hard to write and I am not satisfied with the length of it. It would really be great if you tell me your thoughts on this story, please leave a comment! I promise I won't bite ;-)

“Lovely fellow isn't he?”, Varric remarked tiredly.

 

“Why did we come here again?”, Ellana muttered. She was accused of being a fraud, a Revered mother was knocked out cold by templars and with these lunatics they were considering to form an alliance? At least they seemed as reluctant as Ellana about the whole notion.

 

Cassandra seemed shocked by the whole display. “Has Lord Seeker Lucius gone bad?!?”. _Ehm yes?_ Ellana shared a glance with Solas, who looked even more serious than usual. “Unless that is his normal behavior, than I guess so”. The crowd around them was slowly digesting the shocking events. Ellana warily looked around. She did not feel safe in this city full shems. Especially after what just happened. People went by them in a large circle, openly staring, though they looked more curious than angry.

 

“We shouldn't write them off so quickly, maybe there are some that do not follow Lucius's orders.” Cassandra gave a frustrating sigh, “Let's go back to Haven and investigate our options”. _Well, one of templars did seem to doubt Lucius his leadership_ , Ellana thought. Damn this mess was getting more and more complicated. Then an arrow narrowly missed Solas his feet. Ellana pulled him back with one hand, while grabbing a dagger with the other, quickly scanning were the arrow could come from. However, no-one seem to have any interest in attacking.

 

“An arrow with a message?”

 

Well, the 'message' was more like a code, or a .. drawing? It did not really made any sense. “So .. this 'Red Jenny' person wants to warn us for some 'baddy'? And we have to find some clues for a meeting place?”, Ellana concluded warily. “Sounds dodgy, this could be a trap”, Cassandra warned, “Or, it could be a silent supporter”, Solas observed. Varric rubbed his chin “I don't know Sunshine, are we really going to play hide and seek?”. “Well, at least we will be doing _something_.”, Ellana said, losing her patience. All the staring people were getting on her nerve. “Come on, let's walk around a bit”. They about halfway through the open square, when someone was trying to get their attention.

 

“Herald? Excuse me!”, a merchant was trying to get her attention, “Is it true you are going to heal the sky?”. Ellana glanced at Cassandra before answering, “That's the plan, yes”. “No-one is doing anything! And the Templars, j-just abandon us like filth! Listen, let me help, your people need food, I have contacts. We could get delivery there in days!”. Ellana's heart lifted at this declaration. _Finally someone who_ _shares the cause_ _!_ “You want to help the Inquisition?”, Cassandra asked, irritating Ellana by how doubtful she sounded. “If it means ending this madness, yes!”. “Alright then, go to Haven”, Ellana decided, not taking the trouble to consult Cassandra further. Cullen already had made it clear they needed more contacts, it was a no-brainer really. If Cassandra was annoyed by this, she did not show it.

 

They couldn't go much further, when they were interrupted _again_. “I'm sorry, are you the Inquisition? I have got an invitation for you”. Before they had the opportunity to really process this, another woman demanded their attention. “If I could have a moment of your time”. Ellana looked at her curiously. She carried herself with a lot of self confidence and looked at herself with great interest. Wait, isn't that-? “Grand Enchanter Fiona, isn't it dangerous for you to be here?”, Solas asked her, head slightly tilted like he used to do when he was particularly curious. “I wanted to see the Inquisition with my own eyes. They say a great deal of good things about you, Herald” Fiona said. “Well, you have seen us now.” Ellana remarked. Her patience was running thin. Fiona's eyes narrowed slightly, “I know you seek help with closing the Breach. Consider this an invitation to come to Redcliffe, come meet the mages. An alliance would help us both after all”. After some more small talk, they said they would consider her invitation.

 

 _Funny how fast the wind can turn sometimes_ , Ellana thought. _First no-one wanted to speak with us, now invitations fly our way_ _and helping hands are offered._

 

\-------------------------------

 

It had been a long day. Everyone was tired, though Ellana could not sleep yet. She was walking away from all the fuss of camp, thinking. Today they had gained many new trading partners and promising recruits. Sera being the weirdest one, while Vivienne was downright too full of herself. If would not take long before they would start to fight, Ellana guessed.

 

When she was finally alone, she gave great sigh, leaning against a big tree. Suddenly everyone wanted to talk to them. Well, _almost_ everyone, and they all wanted to talk to Ellana, or the Herald really. That scared her, for she couldn't stay with this 'Inquisition' forever. They would figure out her hidden 'gifts' sooner or later, and she rather be far away when that happened. But she could not on good conscience leave yet, not with the Breach still up in the sky. No, when the Breach is nice and sealed, she would try to find a way out of this .. this .. organization?

 

However, Ellana was not stupid, she could guess where these events were leading to: She was going to be famous, or probably already was. Could she really slip back into her old pattern in her clan without incidents? Or was it better for her to slip away, never to return? She did that once already, she could do it again. She closed her eyes and imagined how it would work out. Ellana, slipping away unseen, traveling alone. Where would she go though? Maybe she should try to find some hidden clans in the forests, down South?

 

But wait, does she really need to go alone? Maybe she could travel together with Solas after the Breach was closed. _Hmm_ _, discovering the fade's memories, share stories, discuss ancient history,_ _even_ _practice_ _magic together_. That sounded strangely appealing. She imagined how they would spend their evenings, him mending his cloths ( _again, when does he ever buy or make new ones?)_ , while she would sharpen her blades or brew potions. If she was honest with herself, she wouldn't mind it at all if they were more than just friends. He tried to be subtle, but she noticed how he would look at her sometimes. As if he was admiring her certain .. qualities. Of course, she could be imagining things, but she could not deny to be attracted to him herself. How would kissing him feel like?

 

“You shouldn't wonder off like that”, Solas said, startling her from her thoughts. There he was, just standing there and studying her. She felt a blush coming on her face, as though he had been listening to her earlier thoughts. It was lucky it was already dark out. _Hopefully his eyes aren't as good as mine though_.

 

“Neither should you”, she countered, giving a little teasing smile, “Are you following me?”. He took a few steps towards her, a tiny smile on his face “Maybe”, he said mysteriously “would that trouble you?”.

 

“If it would be anyone else, yes.” But she dared not to continue. She was never that good at flirting. To be honest, she never had the interest to flirt with anyone. She just had to much shit to deal with. Mahanon was a great friend, but never more than that. She studied him for a moment. His eyes were glinting in the moonlight.

 

“I will keep that in mind”, he said in a soft voice, as he went to stand next to her. After studying the sky for a bit, he asked, “What do you think of our latest additions?”. She considered his question. “I think it is great, some merchants are willing to help the Inquisition. I'm not sure if they are doing it for future benefits or if they just support our cause, but Cullen will be relieved all the same. Madame de Fer is a woman of great importance, though I would not trust her with my secrets. And Sera, well, I'm not sure what to make of her”, she turned to him and added, “Though I doubt that you and her will ever be best friends”. He gave a little laugh, “Indeed, though I do pity her. No, in truth, I envy her. She has a goal and purpose that I lack”.

 

She looked at him curiously, “But you do have a clear purpose now”, she reminded him. Without him, how would she ever had survived? And he keeps supplying them with advice on how to tackle the Breach. Not to mention, he was getting a better fighting partner as well. Solas his expression turned slightly sad however when he said “True” as though that was not what he meant, but was done discussing it. She decided to let it go for now. A silence fell between them. Every now and then, she caught him stealing a glance her way. She pretended not to notice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And please leave a comment!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! If you are still folowing this story, sorry that I took so long to update! I was trying to figure out where this story was going and I have been working on a different story (not posted yet). How is your Christmas holidays so far? Mine is pretty stressfull, jeej .. hence the writing ... 
> 
> anyway, enjoy the new chapter!
> 
> Note: not beta'd

When they returned to Haven, Cassandra dragged her directly to the war room again. Why did she have to be present all the time was beyond her. Didn't the shems have better things to do than listen to her ideas? Or was it just to keep up appearances that the 'Herald of Andraste' was guiding this 'Inquisition'? Whatever it was, her plans to sleep for an hour or two were put on hold for the moment.

 

Apparently they were expected, for they didn't even go so far as the war room. “Good you're here, we heard about your encounter”, Josephine said, Cullen and Leliana, _damn her_ , joined as well . “It's a shame that the templars have lost their senses as well as the capital.” Cullen commented. “A shame is an understatement Commander”, Ellana added. Cassandra glanced at her, “Indeed, Lord Seeker Lucius is not the man I remember. I know him to be a reasonable sort of fellow. Something is clearly amiss, but what?”. Leliana looked thoughtful, “Yes, he has taken an order somewhere, but to do what? My reports have been ... really odd”.

 

“Then we must look into it”, Cullen all but commanded, “we need them to help us close the Breach.” “Or”, Josephine added gently, “the Herald can go to Redcliffe to meet the mages instead.” Cullen turned on her,”What! You think the mages are more united?! It could be ten times worse!”. “You don't know that, we have not spoken to them yet”, Ellana said. _All this bickering, why can't they all agree for once?_

 

“I doubt that we have enough influence to ally with either party though”, Josephine helpfully put in, “We would first need to find more supporters. By the way Herald, may I congratulate you for your excellent work in the capital? You solved many problems in one go.” She gave her a little bow. Ellana was slightly taken aback, for a moment not sure what she was talking about, until she remembered the merchants and other connections she had established. “Oh, ehm, right, it was no problem really ..”, she muttered, embarrassed.

 

“Well, let's take this to the war room”, Cullen said, looking around. Several people were eying them curiously. “Join us, nothing would mean anything without your mark after all”, he gave her a small grin, then started towards the war room. Before she could follow though, Leliana stopped her, “A moment please Herald”. Her heart sank, _what now?_ Luckily however, it was not about her first clan or other personal things. Instead, she shared her concerns about the Wardens. Apparently they had all disappeared, except for one, a certain 'Blackwall'. Whether she could look into it? “Ehm, sure I'll look into it, no problem.” Ellana all but agreed. _If it will keep her happy, sure._ “Thank you Herald”, Leliana said, looking relieved. She hesitantly added, “I have misjudged you Herald, you have proved to be a good person. It is good to see I can be wrong about people sometimes”, she gave her a small smile, then turned towards the war room as well. Ellana eyed her back suspiciously. Was this another try to get into her good books? Or was it actually genuine? It did look like she meant it though. After a moment or so, she followed as well.

 

 

\------------------------------

 

 

Ellana was having second thoughts on their party. It seemed like a good idea at the time to take Sera with them, and give Varric some rest. However, her comments about everything and everyone was starting to get on her nerves. And seemed like she was not the only one.

 

“-and then _splash_! Ha! The tit didn't see that coming!”, Sera was gesturing widely, her cloths still stained in blood from their previous fight. If you called the rags 'clothing' that is...

 

“Yes, well, you killed the person that I was already dealing with”, Solas commented.

 

“Yeah, but you were doing it too slowly! Geez!”

 

“Just to be clear, you wish me to manipulate the delicate balance of the primordial energy of the Fade...faster?”

 

“You are not making it worse, it is bad enough that you people do it at all! Might as well get it over with!”

 

Ellana shared a look with Cassandra. _Th_ _ese horses from_ _Dennet better be worth it,_ Ellana thought.

 

\--------------------

 

“Tomorrow we should reach master Dennet's place.”, Cassandra was saying. They were sitting around the fire, Solas had already retired for the night and Sera was ... somewhere ...

 

“Now that the watchtowers have been build, we should finally get the horses for the Inquisition”

 

“Wait, wasn't there also something about wolfs that had gone mad as well?”, Ellana remarked. Cassandra looked annoyed at the reminder. “That's true”, the worrier sighed, “then we should investigate first.”

 

There was a yelp in one of the tents, followed by sounds by someone that tried to get of the tent as soon as possible. Then snickering from a nearby bush. That sounded suspiciously like “Sera!”, Solas said angrily. _Wow he can really lose his temper can_ _'t_ _he?,_ Ellana thought. “Hahaha, did you see THAT!”, Sera was rolling on the ground now, laughing.

 

“Could you KINDLY refrain from putting lizards in my bedroll next time?!?”, “Hehe, Ah Grumpy, what would the fun be in that! Hehe, oh alright, fine, no lizards next time!”. Solas his eyes narrowed, and Ellana smelled ozon, like the mage was close to losing control of his magic. She started to walk over, in case she needed to intervene, when Solas turned around forcefully, muttering angrily, and walked off.

 

“Sera, was that really necessary?”, Ellana asked the rogue. “Hehe, no, but the guy needs to loosen up!”, Sera wiped away a tear, still snickering, “and that face, hehe”. Really, how could someone be grown up and still behave so childish? “You do know you will need to work together right? Getting him angry might not be the most wise thing to do?”. Sera now turned fully towards her, head slightly tilted, “Nah, that will be fine! I didn't hurt him alright? Just little teasing is all, he needs to loosen up and stop being a dick”.

 

“He is not a dick!”, Ellana respond angrily before she could stop herself. “Hehehe, I bet he does have one! Haha!”, Sera was again laughing like it was the best joke in the world. Ellana slapped her forehead, ears burning, before walking off. Talking to Sera seemed like a waste of time. At some point, Sera must have recovered herself, for she called out, “Ah ok, fine! I will _try_ to stop picking on your _boyfriend_ alright? Try mind you! He is such an easy target, hehehe”.

 

“He's not my boyfriend!”. _Ah, but you wished he was, don't you?_ A little voice told her. A blush covered her face at the thought. “Oh, don't deny it! I have seen the way you look at him”. Sera looked at her knowingly. How did she know? They barely knew each other and she didn't look at him _that_ often. Did she? Instead of engaging her further, she just said “Whatever Sera” on her way out. She needed air, preferably without Sera's comments.

 

When she was out of earshot, she quickened her stride, not really looking where she was going, lost in thought. Yes, she liked Solas very much, and to her mortification apparently everyone noticed. Her ears were still burning. Hell, a few days earlier she was worried how everyone would react to her being a secret mage. Now she was bothered by the idea of everyone knowing she had a crush. “Ah!”, she randomly cry out, terrifying a few nearby birds. Like it would even work out! Yes, he seemed interested in her, judging from his lingering looks. But he did not do more than looking, like he was not sure or something was holding him back. Also, even though they talked a lot, he did not really gave straight answers. He reminded her of herself sometimes. What secrets did he keep?

 

Speaking of the devil ... “Solas?”, he jumped at her voice, apparently lost in thought himself, quickly turning around. “Ah, apologies, I did not hear you approach”. He avoided her gaze, his ears turning red.

 

“That's alright”, Ellana said, taking a few steps in his direction. “I did not realize you walked off this way.” She said conversationally.

 

“Well, it would not do to wander off too far, we should return to camp”, Solas said quite suddenly, as though wanting to spend as little time in her presence as possible.

 

“I-, well”, Ellana stammered, when Solas started to make his way back. “You shouldn't mind Sera, she pulls jokes on everyone you know”, she suddenly said, wanting to make him stay. Hell, she wanted to find out what bothered him so. Solas stopped walking. “She behaves like a child, she-”, he stopped himself, then took a deep breath and turned around again, “Sera has many .. opinions about the Inquisition, about everything in fact, I do admire her sense of purpose.”

 

“Oh, really? So far I have only seen her sense of purpose in the form of jokes, preferably improper ones.”

 

Solas nodded his head with a small frown, “That is definitely true”. “However,” Ellana continued, “I do believe her heart is at the right place. I made her promise not to pull jokes on you anymore. You have been her favorite target this trip so far. You should consider it a complement.”

 

He gave a small grin, went to look at her, then suddenly froze, his hand quickly taking out his staff. Ellana made to turn around, but someone had hit her on the head. _Hard_. She fell to the ground, seeing stars.

 

By now several people were coming out of the bushes, while Solas, cursing, was trying to hold them back. The last image Ellana remembered was a Templar taking Solas down from behind, then she passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand a clifhanger! Thanks for reading, and please, do let me know what you think in the comments!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I'm soooo sorry for not updating sooner! I had a busy time at work, and I also pored energy into a different story that just wouldn't leave me alone. I had to write it down. Which is a good thing, in a way, 'cause it gave this story a pause and let me think about how to finish it. It felt a bit like it was going nowhere, I don't know, but now I think I have a clearer picture on how to continue it.
> 
> I hope you like the update, again comments would be great. Thank you for still following this and to everyone who gave Kudo's, THANKS!
> 
> Note: Trespasser spoilers ... and I don't have anyone who corrects my English.

 

_Fenhedis, this should never have happened!_ Solas thought angrily to himself. He panicked, was distracted by the fact the damn templar taking down Ellana that he lost his focus. Normally, he would have noticed that someone tried to get him from behind. Today however ...

 

He hissed when their captors pulled him forward suddenly, making him almost trip over some roots. His hands were bound, shaking, and his head and arms hurt from the combat. Not for the first time that night Solas tried to reach to the Fade. And failed yet again.

 

Fear spread through his body, though the mage tried to rationalize it away. The captive rings on his wrist and neck are responsible for the missing connection to the Fade, it is only temporary, they _will_ pay. B ut that thought was countered by the more likely scenario that they would be killed before the others found out what happened. _Calm down_ , he reasoned with himself, _fear will get you nowhere._ That thought did not keep his hand from sweating and his body shaking in dread. He should be better in composing himself! That was before the connection with the Fade was broken though. Without it, he felt blind, out of his element, _tranquil_.

 

His eyes went to his captors again, they were templars, and their clothing suggested they were traveling on the road for some time. They were making small talk about insignificant things, so now and then congratulating themselves on their capture. “Quiet guys! We should not give our position away”, the person that held the keys to his release said, leading the group. The two templars in charge of controlling him shut their mouth directly. Two others were closing the group, dragging Ellana with them. At the thought of her, his fear increased, he yearned to look at her, make sure she was alright, but did not want to give them more leverage than they already had.

 

One thought gave him both hope and made him apprehensive: _If they only wanted to kill them, they would have done so by now_. Indeed, why bother dragging an unconscious elf and control a mage with special contraptions if you are going to kill them anyway? No, they most need information from them, or something else.

 

He must somehow use that to his advantage.

 

They must have been walking for over an hour, before they reached a camp. Solas quickly scanned the scene, two people were guarding it (both rogues, surprisingly not templars), there were seven horses tied to nearby trees and well cared for and four tents. A fire illuminated the captors faces.

 

One of the rogues stepped closer, “Well well well, what do we have here?”, he said it with a strong accent. Tevene perhaps? His face was tanned, but that could also be due to the long shadow of the fire, and he had a small beard. He looked delighted with the day's catch.

 

“These two were traveling with the Inquisition”, the person on his left said smugly, “We should be able to get what we need from them”. The other rogue looked sharply to their general direction, Solas couldn't see his face due to the hood, “Are you sure?”, the rogue asked with a female voice. Or _her_ face, “I will not trouble the Elder one with false hope! This world has enough of that already”. “Oh, we are quite sure we will be able to get it out of them”. _Elder one? Their leader perhaps?_

 

The female rogue sounded unimpressed, “Well, if you are so confident, get started then”.

 

“We have been on the road all day, first food, then work”, the templar on Solas's right said angrily. He sounded like simpleton the way he said it, but appearances could deceive.

 

The male rogue looked thoughtful to the two prisoners, Solas tried his hardest to control his body, betray no fear or any emotion at all. But it was more difficult than it should.

 

“Fine, tie them up then”, he said.

 

As he was tied to a nearby tree, forced to keep standing, Solas tried desperately to come up with a plan. They clearly needed information. Information on what exactly? Who was this Elder one? And did they realise they had captured the Herald herself? His eyes involuntary went to Ellana again, they tied her hands and feet together behind her back. Her hair was a mess, covering the bruises on her pretty face. She had her eyes shut, but she was breathing. Somehow, that fact made him feel a little better. He would not let them hurt her.

 

But how would he do that? He couldn't stop them, not when he was in this state.

 

Solas could not suppress a wince when they tied his hands too tightly to some thick branches of the tree, bringing his attention back to the templars that were binding him. They were young, mid twenties?, and they clearly did not like mages given the hatred in their eyes. When they were finished, they turned towards the fire, “So, what's for supper?”, “I do hope it is _rabbit_ ”. They laughed at their poor excuse of a joke, making Solas try to collect his mana again. Almost all his powers were gone, but the tiniest portion of his mana remained. Not nearly enough to cast something, but maybe if he collected it over time ....

 

He closed his eyes and focused inwards. Could he still reach his friends in the Fade, even though his powers were gone? Maybe they could help them. However, he would need to fall asleep for that attempt. Even without the uncomfortable position he was in, half hanging and bound to a tree, he would not be able to sleep. He was too worried for Ellana, too afraid of the fact his connection to the Fade was simply _gone_. He was disgusted with himself. He should not be letting his emotions control him. She was only a _distraction_ , nothing more. Yes, he needed her for his plans, but that was all.

 

However, his concern for her now was more intense than merely a plan that threatened to go wrong. He cared for her deeply, he suddenly realized.

 

His eyes snapped open again, refusing to give into his thoughts, and instead scanned their surroundings once more. Was there _really_ no other way out? He tried to move his hands, but they were bound too tightly and his muscles ached. Already he began to lose feeling in his small fingers. They left his legs free though, he tried to stand on the tree roots to give his hands less weight to carry, which worked only marginally. In the end, he decided to save his strength for whatever came next.

 

Time crawled, but eventually most of the templars got up from the fire, clearly finished with their dinner, and some of them stalked towards Solas with purpose. The others seemed to get ready to stand guard. Sweat was running down Solas his neck, his muscles at the ready.

 

He did not notice Ellana shifting slightly on the ground.

 

“You will answer my questions, rabbit, if you value your life”, the one apparently in charge said. When he didn't answer, a knife was put at his neck. He almost didn't breath, trying and failing to collect the mana needed for a barrier.

 

Fenhedis, he was powerless to defend himself. They could end him here, and his people would be lost. Forever. He needed to stay alive at all costs. His eyes focused on his interrogator.

 

“That's better”, he said in satisfaction to have gained his full attention. He did not remove his knife.

 

“What is a knife-ear, a mage, doing with the Inquisition?”

 

“I-I volunteered”, Solas stammered, sounding weaker than he intended. Sweat was running down his face now, he cursed his lack of control of his voice. He was giving his fear away.

 

The templars seemed to enjoy his fear, “Why volunteer for such a false organization hmm?”.

 

His mind raced, trying to come up with some kind of excuse or believable story, “I .. I had nowhere else to go, not after the circles collapsed. I was on the run when the Inquisition asked for volunteers”.

 

The knife retreated a few inches, giving him more space to breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds in relief.

 

“Sure he's telling the truth boss?”, one of them muttered. The 'boss' narrowed his eyes in thought, “Maybe, yes, let's make sure he answers the next one true as well”.

 

“ _Rabbit_ , I know you are a part of the inner circle of the Inquisition”, Solas his heart almost stopped, “so you will tell me what their next plan is, _now_ ”.

 

No, no, they didn't know. They couldn't. He made sure he was not directly linked to the inner circle. Yes, he gave advice, but-.

 

Suddenly there were screams from the guards, distracting his interrogators. One of them rushed towards the source to help, then stopped dead in his tracks, staring in confusion.

 

The templars were attacking each other, as if mad.

 

Solas and the remaining templars stared in shock. It must have been magic that distracted the guards, but where did it come from?! Did his friends intervene somehow? It seemed like the only option, though it should not be possible.

 

“Fuck, I thought you said these rings stopped magic!?”, the 'boss' screamed in anger. “I-it does”, the other stammered. “This is too risky, kill him! Now!”. Swords were drawn, but by now Solas had prepared himself. He raised his feet and kicked them as hard as he could. At the same time, he tried yet again to send whatever magic he could master, but it was to no avail.

 

One of the kicked templars went down, but the other was merely pushed slightly to the side. He came to him again, and there was no way he could avoid the blade.

 

It sank deep into his stomach, pain blinding his vision. He heard Ellana in the distance screaming, then fire burned the templar in front of him to ash, as well as the rope that bound him. He fell to the ground, the sword still there, blood everywhere. He could hardly breath, his hands tried to stop the bleeding, grabbing the blade, trying to get it out. He pulled and yelled at the same time. It was no use, too weak, too fast, and no magic to heal himself. It was over. The People would be lost, and he would die.

 

A tear was running down his face in defeat when Ellana finally reached him. “No no no”, she said in a wild voice. Even though he was dying, he couldn't help the thought that at least she would make it out alive. She grabbed the hilt and removed the blade from his body in one quick movement. His eyes rolled back in pain, his hands pressing to the wound, though it was no use. He was losing too much blood. “Solas, stay with me now”, she said in desperation, tears on her face. One of her hands was on his cheek, while the other pressed down on the wound. “Please, stay with me, I'll get you through this”, though she didn't sound convinced.

 

Through the pain, he noted she was warm, almost hot to the touch, how her hair framed her face and how her eyes were burning into his own, full of despair and something else. “I'm sorry”, he whispered, though didn't quite know why. Was it for the People? Or the fact he never told her how he felt? Of how he deceived them all from the start? He wasn't sure.

 

His vision went black around the edges and he could hardly think. “No, NO!”, Ellana screamed, “Take it! Damn you, TAKE IT!”. A purple light was around her hand, magic, _mana,_ pouring into his hands. His thoughts wakened at the sensation of a faint connection to the Fade, near silent whispers of spirits, power at his fingertips, which he greedily took. It was foreign, but not unpleasant, and he quickly used it for healing.

 

With the remainder of his vision, he stared at her in wonder, trying to remind himself to breath. All this time, under his very nose, she had been a mage? He was loosing his focus at this thought and hastily closed his eyes, turning his full attention to closing his wound. She offered all her mana to him, but his focused wavered, tiredness dragged him down, though he fought to fully close the wound. Then he lost consciousness.


End file.
